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A burned urn in Portland, Oregon. (Credit: Portland Police Bureau)

PORTLAND, Oregon, – Police in Oregon and Washington are investigating ballot boxes that were set on fire.

Portland Police Bureau said Monday morning, officers responded to reports of a fire at a ballot box located in the 1000 block of Southeast Morrison Street.

Security guards had extinguished the fire when officers arrived.

Authorities said an incendiary device was placed inside the urn before the fire started. The police Explosives Disposal Unit responded to the scene and dismantled the device.

The fire damaged three ballots inside.

Police in Vancouver, Washington, are also investigating a ballot box that was set on fire Monday morning. The fire destroyed hundreds of ballots. The devices were attached to the outside of the boxes, police said.

The fire started at the C-TRAN Park & ​​Ride at Fisher’s Landing Transit Center.

Authorities said at a news conference in Portland that enough material was recovered from the incendiary devices to show that Monday’s two fires were connected, and that they were also linked to an incident on Oct. 8, when an incendiary device was placed in a different ballot. mailbox in Vancouver.

Police said Monday that a “suspicious vehicle” has been identified in connection with crimes in Oregon and Washington. Surveillance footage captured a Volvo stopping at a mailbox in Portland, Oregon, just before nearby security personnel discovered a fire inside the mailbox on Monday, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner said in a statement. press conference.

“Heartbreaking,” said Greg Kimsey, a longtime elected auditor in Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver. “It is a direct attack on democracy.”

Vote drop boxes in Washington and Oregon have fire suppression systems that are designed to activate when the temperature inside reaches a certain point, coating the ballots inside with a fire extinguishing powder.

The system appeared to have worked at the Portland mailbox and security personnel were nearby to help put out the fire. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said the county has hired private security officers to have “roving patrols” that go around the county 24 hours a day and “watch” all mailboxes.

He said one of the guards was at the county elections office, heard what sounded like an explosion (probably the activation of the fire suppression system) and called the police.

For unknown reasons, the system failed to prevent the destruction of hundreds of ballots in Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from Portland.

The fires came after a similar case in Arizona last week.

According to FOX 10 Phoenix, An arrest was made after a United States Postal Service mailbox in Phoenix caught fire last Thursday, damaging more than a dozen ballots.

RELATED: Ballots damaged after USPS mailbox catches fire in Phoenix; suspect arrested

The fire occurred shortly before 1:30 a.m. Oct. 24 outside a post office near 7th Avenue and Indian School Road.

Phoenix fire crews responded to the scene and extinguished the flames. Twenty election ballots and other mail items were damaged in the fire.

“The postal inspector took possession of the damaged ballots and mail,” said Phoenix Fire Capt. Rob McDade. “The Phoenix Fire Investigations Task Force, which includes Phoenix police detectives and Phoenix Fire investigators, is working with U.S. postal inspectors.”

In a statement, the FBI said it is coordinating with federal, state and local partners to actively investigate the two incidents. Anyone with information is asked to contact the nearest FBI office, provide information through tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324).

Voters were encouraged to check the status of their ballot online at www.votewa.gov to track the status of their return. If a returned ballot is not marked “received,” voters can print a replacement ballot or visit their local elections department to obtain a new one, the Secretary of State’s office said.