Clark County voters are undeterred by attacks on polls in Vancouver and Portland

Despite arsons Voters are still using the ballot boxes en masse at the polls in Vancouver and Portland this week.

The presence of 24/7 monitors in Clark County watching for nefarious behavior has put some minds to rest since someone installed an incendiary device in east Vancouver and a ballot drop box in southeast Portland early Monday morning, damaging or destroying hundreds of ballots. Researchers believe that the arsonist can continue the attacks.

And yet a steady stream of cars flowed through the polls today, including the one that was attacked in east Vancouver at C-Tran’s Fisher’s Landing Transit Center. The ballot box has now been replaced.

U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, who is running for re-election, dropped off her ballot in that box this morning.

“The fires were worrying, but I have real confidence in the work and the actions that have been taken. … The most important thing right now is that people get their ballots in,” she said.

According to the Clark County Elections Office, Washington residents can drop off their ballot at any polling place in the state. If they are not a resident of that ballot box’s county, their ballot will be mailed to the county where they live.

Jennifer Whitaker is one of three observers working in shifts to monitor the Fisher’s Landing ballot box. She has been sitting in a car since Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., keeping her eyes on the coffin. She didn’t notice any problems, but was surprised at the amount of attention the box received.

“People want to see the box. They take pictures of it. … People have definitely been sued over this box,” Whitaker said.

She has seen many people taking videos in front of the polls, some waving flags and others expressing their frustrations about returning their ballots for the second time.

Election workers identified 488 damaged ballots removed from the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center ballot box, according to a statement Wednesday. As of Tuesday, 345 of the identified voters had already contacted the Elections Office to request replacement ballots. Elections staff sent the remaining 143 replacement ballots to voters on Thursday.

Tracy Hernandez dropped off her family’s ballots for a second time after the elections office told her their ballots had likely been destroyed, she said. She had dropped off the ballots the day before the ballot box fire.

Using the county’s election tracking tool, she discovered the ballots had not been received.

Despite the attack, she said she was not concerned about her ballots being destroyed again at the same location. The 24-hour observers and the fact that ballots are collected every day before 5:30 p.m. give her confidence.

“If something happens and I hear about it, I will come back and get my ballot before Election Day,” she said.

The monitors, hired by Vancouver staffing firm NW Staffing Resources, cost the province about $134,000, according to Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey. But the money is worth it, he said.

So far, the observers have not reported any suspicious behavior to the elections office, he said. However, one observer was caught sleeping on the job and released.

Some groups in Clark County are promoting ballot harvesting, where they collect ballots and deliver them to voters. Kimsey encourages people to only give ballots to someone they trust.

On Kimsey’s Facebook page, he warned that Firmly Planted Family Homeschool Resource Center was planning to set up a ballot drop box. Photos in a Facebook group show a black box labeled “Ballot Drop Box” in downtown East Vancouver.

“This is not an official ballot box and is not affiliated with the Clark County Elections Office,” Kimsey said. “I don’t doubt the intentions at all, but even people with good intentions sometimes don’t follow through.”

Kimsey will attend a vigil hosted by the Clark County Justice Coalition at the Fisher’s Landing polling place, 3510 SE 164th Ave., Vancouver, on Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m., he said on Facebook.

“I am so proud of our community’s response to that attack,” Kimsey said.