The FBI has released surveillance video of an unknown suspect setting a ballot drop box on fire before Election Day as authorities continue to search for the suspects.
The FBI is now offering up to $25,000 to anyone who can provide information for identifying the suspect involved in setting fire to ballot boxes in Vancouver, Wash., and Portland, Ore., according to an information poster the FBI National Press Office released Wednesday.
Surveillance footage shows the individual driving up to the box in an early 2003 to 2004 Volvo S-60 sedan, described to be dark, with dark wheels and a light-colored interior. Officials said the vehicle does not have a Volvo logo on the front grill.
At the time of the Oct. 28 incident, the vehicle also displayed a fraudulent temporary Washington state license plate on the rear and no front license plate. The plate, which is not associated with a Volvo, may no longer be on the vehicle, officials said.
Two more incidents occurred on Oct. 28 between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. in Vancouver and Portland. Hundreds of ballots were destroyed in the Vancouver drop box, while officials said three were damaged in Portland.
All three incidents involved improvised incendiary devices placed on the outside of the boxes. Investigators recovered enough material from the devices to link all three fires.
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Investigators described the suspect as a white male between 30 and 40, who is balding with short hair. It is believed he has some experience with metalwork and welding.
Hundreds of ballots were damaged at the Vancouver location, where a suspected incendiary device was found next to the drop box. It’s possible some ballots were completely burned, and a half-dozen were unidentifiable. But elections staff were able to identify 488 damaged ballots, according to the county.
An incendiary device was placed in the Portland ballot box, officials said, but fire suppressant inside protected “virtually all” the ballots. Three ballots were identified as damaged, and the affected voters were contacted for replacements.
