Ballot drop boxes, long a target of misinformation, face physical threats

With Election Day nearing, authorities successful Oregon and Washington have opened investigations and stepped up information measures aft 2 ballot driblet boxes were group ablaze connected Monday. 

Three ballots were damaged aft an incendiary instrumentality was recovered wrong a ballot container successful Portland, Oregon, connected Monday. And connected nan aforesaid day, officials feared hundreds of ballots were damaged by a occurrence successful a ballot container successful adjacent Vancouver, Washington. Police said a "suspicious device" was recovered adjacent to nan box. 

Ballot driblet boxes person historically been targets of misinformation, according to experts, who opportunity nan mendacious claims surged successful 2020 erstwhile then-President Donald Trump raised doubts astir nan information of mail-in ballots. Drop boxes are now facing increasing beingness threats, according to predetermination officials and soul U.S. authorities warnings. 

U.S. intelligence officials said "domestic convulsive extremists" whitethorn target ballot driblet boxes because of their accessibility, according to soul reports issued by nan Department of Homeland Security and FBI successful nan months starring up to nan election. 

The DHS study said societal media users discussed methods for damaging  ballots and ballot driblet boxes, specified arsenic utilizing roadworthy flares aliases gasoline. The intelligence reports were first obtained nether unfastened records rule by Property of nan People, a nonprofit that focuses connected governmental transparency and nationalist security.

The incidents successful Oregon and Washington are not nan first clip ballot driblet boxes person been nan target of attacks. Ahead of Election Day 2020, ballot driblet boxes were besides group alight successful 2 abstracted incidents successful Massachusetts and California. 

A driblet container is simply a unafraid instrumentality for mail-in ballots, providing an replacement to mailing ballots done nan U.S. Postal Service. Outdoor boxes are typically tamper-proof and anchored, pinch secured locks and different information features, according to nan Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The agency is portion of nan DHS and focuses connected national cybersecurity while moving to protect against information risks related to nan 2024 election.

CISA besides said outdoor driblet boxes often person features to forestall occurrence and h2o damage.

Officials said occurrence suppressant protected astir each nan ballots successful nan Oregon driblet box. While nan ballot container successful Washington besides had a occurrence suppression system, Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey told nan Associated Press nan strategy was not effective. 

Indoor boxes are mostly monitored by trained workers and video surveillance, CISA said. Ballots successful driblet boxes tin only beryllium accessed by predetermination officials, often bipartisan postulation teams, according to nan U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which supports authorities and section predetermination officials.

Misinformation targeting ballot driblet boxes

Election infrastructure has been a focal constituent for misinformation, including successful 2020 erstwhile nan driblet boxes became an increasingly popular action for voters to taxable their message ballots amid nan pandemic. 

Paul Gronke, a professor of governmental subject astatine Reed College and head of nan Elections and Voting Information Center, said ballot driblet boxes became a awesome target of misinformation successful 2020 erstwhile Trump many times raised doubts and suspicions astir driblet boxes and mail-in ballots arsenic portion of his mendacious declare that nan 2020 predetermination was "stolen." 

In August 2020, Trump called driblet boxes a "voter information disaster," but he yet embraced message voting successful 2024, and it's been utilized by millions of voters of some parties this year. 

Misleading claims and videos person dispersed wide connected societal media. In 1 example, societal media users claimed footage of a female placing astatine slightest 3 ballots into a driblet container successful Ohio successful October 2020 was grounds of message ballot fraud. But predetermination officials said it's not forbidden to spot aggregate ballots successful nan container successful Ohio arsenic agelong arsenic they are each from family members. 

Such examples are often pointed to arsenic grounds that ballot driblet boxes are a problem; however, experts say driblet boxes connection a reliable and unafraid measurement to safeguard ballots, and that location is small to nary grounds that they person been utilized for elector fraud. 

Gronke says nan beingness attacks connected driblet boxes are apt related to nan pervasive misinformation circulating since 2020. 

"Unfortunately, we're successful a spot correct now successful immoderate parts of America wherever group consciousness sufficiently frustrated, angered, and outraged by immoderate of nan misinformation that they hear," Gronke said.

Drop boxes are permitted successful 27 states and nan District of Columbia, while 12 states person banned them, according to nan National Conference of State Legislatures. Each authorities has its ain rules for securing driblet boxes.

States and counties besides person systems successful spot to support way of each ballot sent retired and received back, says CBS News predetermination rule contributor David Becker. 

In some Washington and Oregon, predetermination officials said voters whose ballots were damaged would person replacement ballots. 

"We person aggregate systems and information measures successful spot to guarantee your ballot is safe," Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said successful a statement. "Your Elections squad is moving difficult to make judge that each ballot counts."

"We return nan information of our predetermination workers earnestly and will not tolerate threats aliases acts of unit that activity to undermine nan antiauthoritarian process," Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said astir nan incident successful Vancouver. 

Emma Li contributed to this report.

In:
• 2024 Elections
• Mail In Voting