US Elections: Ballot drop boxes set on fire Oregon and Washington amid warnings of threats to ‘democratic process’

Amid warnings from U.S. federal authorities about potential threats “to disrupt the democratic process,” ballot collection boxes in two states were set on fire early Monday. In keeping with local officials, a box in Washington State and the other in Oregon were targeted with incendiary devices, while similar devices planted in two other boxes did now not detonate. Authorities connected these attacks to a previous incident on October Eight, when the other ballot box in Washington used to be destroyed, citing similarities within the devices used.

In a separate incident in Florida, a container and bag containing ballots were found along the roadside. The Miami Herald reported that the ballots remained intact, with seals unbroken, and had already been scanned and tabulated. Election officials explained that the items had fallen from a truck as a consequence of an unlocked door, leading to the dismissal of the driver guilty. Videos of the ballot discovery were posted on X.

Oregon and Washington are safe Democratic states within the presidential race, but the contest for a congressional seat is close in Vancouver – now now not to be perplexed with the an extraordinarily good buy larger Canadian city. Washington’s Third District includes Vancouver and an enormous and largely rural part of the southern a element of the state. The seat is currently held by Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez , who eked out a victory over Republican Joe Kent by lower than 1% of the vote in 2022 Gluesenkamp Perez and Kent are headed to a rematch in next week’s election.

With official Election Day set for next Tuesday, early balloting has already begun in most states. Depending on state-specific procedures, voters may cast ballots by mail, place them in designated ballot boxes, or vote in person at polling locations.

In recent bulletins, the Department of Fatherland Security and other law enforcement agencies warned local officials of potential disruptions from “domestic violent extremists” (DVEs) concentrated on the elections. The bulletins, released by the transparency organization Property of the People, caution about which that you're taking a look to be in a position to consider attacks on politicians, candidates, poll workers, judges, ballot boxes, campaign events, and polling places.

One bulletin specifically anticipated threats to ballot drop boxes used for early balloting, noting that some social media users have been discussing the right way to sabotage them undetected. Yet one more bulletin identified extreme right-wing groups, just like the Proud Boys, as a main source of those threats, noting that the polarization in U.S. political and social ideologies is progressively more evident within the 2024 presidential election cycle. It also noted that two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump have intensified ideologically-driven hostility, conspiracy theories, and disinformation.

Furthermore, the bulletin warned that international conflicts among key allies tend to persuade U.S. foreign policy, which in turn may possibly intensify political tensions domestically.

(With IANS inputs)