Ballot collection boxes are stored in the Deschutes County Clerk’s Office on Oct. 17 in Bend. Ballots dropped at drop boxes are placed in the collection boxes, locked with a padlock seal, and taken to the clerk’s office. 

Early Monday morning, two ballot boxes went up in flames, one in Vancouver, Washington, and one in Portland.. Hundreds of ballots were charred in Vancouver, but in Portland, only three ballots were damaged thanks to the ballot box’s built-in fire suppression system.

“One ballot damaged is too many, but that only three ballots were damaged, and not to the point of being unrecognizable … it’s the best news,” said Deschutes County Clerk Steve Dennison.

Dennison, who oversees Deschutes County elections, said his initial reaction to what happened in Portland and Vancouver was pure disgust, followed closely by concern.

“The security of our drop boxes, of our process, it’s everything. The system doesn’t work if it’s not secure,” Dennison said.

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Here’s what ballot security looks like from beginning to end in Deschutes County

But Dennison is confident in the county’s election security. Deschutes County has a clean record when it comes to ballot-box tampering, Dennison said, with the most common issue being the appearance of partisan messaging on or near the ballot boxes.

Dennison could not elaborate on what security measures exactly are in place, cautious about giving anyone with ill intent any ideas. He said he is confident in the contingency and security measures the clerk’s office has, but more often than not the things that go wrong are scenarios no one ever expects.

“These are the lessons learned of each election … You’re constantly learning something new, but quite often it’s things that we don’t plan for,” Dennison said.

For example, a couple of years ago the thermostat went out in the building housing the county clerk’s office the weekend before volunteers were set to begin counting ballots. When Dennison arrived in the building, it was 112 degrees and the heat had melted the rubber belt in a letter-opening machine. So, until a technician was able to come out, the team had to open the envelopes by hand.

Another example was two years ago when freezing rain sealed ballot boxes closed on election night. Now, instead of chipping away at the ice with a screwdriver, ballot pickup technicians are supplied with ice-melt packs.

“Just know that we take the security of ballots and elections very seriously, even when we aren’t discussing it publicly. The security of the process and the ballots and the election as a whole is of the utmost importance to us,” Dennison said.

The FBI is now investigating the two instances Monday morning and is attributing the cause to arson. The Portland Police Bureau also made a statement saying it appears these two cases are related to a third, failed arson attempt in Vancouver on Oct. 8.

“Make no mistake, an attack on a ballot box is an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable,” Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said in a statement. “Whatever the motivation behind this incident, there is no justification for any attempt to disenfranchise voters.”

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Fires set in ballot boxes in Portland, Vancouver on Monday morning