The FBI, the US federal police, announced to CNN that it was investigating the burning of ballot boxes that occurred in recent days in the United States, on the eve of the presidential elections on November 5.
This Monday, police in Vancouver, Washington state, “responded to the scene of an arson attack on a ballot box,” they said in a statement. “Officers arrived and found a suspicious device next to the urn. The urn was smoking and on fire,” he also explained.
“We believe that some ballots have been damaged,” said the Washington Secretary of State, responsible for ensuring the proper conduct of the elections, inviting people who voted in these polls to check online if their ballot has been registered and if so contrary. , to vote again.
On the same day, an “incendiary device” was discovered on the side of an urn in Portland, in the neighboring state of Oregon. According to Tim Scott, a local official, a device placed inside the ballot box made it possible to protect “almost all of the ballots.” Only three of them were damaged and the electoral services will contact the affected voters, he stated in a press release.
“Directed and intentional” acts
In the United States it is possible to vote by mail under conditions that vary by state. In some, such as Oregon and Washington state, physical ballot boxes are available on the street to cast your vote before official Election Day. During the 2020 US presidential election, 46% of people who voted did so by mail, according to the Pew Research Center, a US research center.
“We don’t know the motive for these acts, which appear to be a series of three at this time, but we do know that acts of this type are intentional and targeted,” said Amanda McMillan, deputy chief of the Portland Police Bureau. , cited by CNN. According to police, another ballot box was the subject of a similar incident in Vancouver in early October.
Almost 43 million Americans have already voted early in these elections that promise to be very close. At the national level, polls still show neck and neck between Kamala Harris, who would become the first black woman president of the United States, and Donald Trump, a third-time candidate for the White House, who will leave in 2021.
Source: BFM TV
