Pic Shows Ballots Being Saved from a Drop Box Fire in Vancouver, WA?
A photo authentically shows U.S. presidential election ballots being saved from a ballot drop box fire in Vancouver, Washington, in late October 2024.
Though the image is authentic, it is unclear whether the ballots were successfully retrieved undamaged or just removed in an effort to quell the fire. According to The Associated Press, hundreds of ballots were lost in the Vancouver ballot box fire.
In October 2024, an image posted to the subreddit r/pics claimed to show a member of law enforcement saving ballots for the 2024 U.S. presidential election from a smoking ballot drop box in Vancouver, Washington.
The image was posted following reports of two connected acts of arson on ballot boxes in Vancouver and nearby Portland, Oregon. According to The Associated Press, the Portland fire damaged just three ballots, thanks to a fire suppression system in the ballot box. While the Vancouver box also had a fire suppression system, it proved ineffective, and hundreds of ballots reportedly were destroyed.
(Pup5581 on Reddit)
In the Reddit thread, one user commented, “I work for a municipality with a ballot drop box out front. There is a requirement to have cameras on the box 24/7, and the footage is (often) provided to the County during election season for record keeping purposes.”
The viral image in question is indeed authentic, as it is a screenshot taken from a video of the scene that can be viewed on the AP’s YouTube channel.
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While the image is genuine, it’s hard to say whether the ballots were actually “saved” undamaged — particularly since hundreds were destroyed — or simply removed as part of the attempt to extinguish the fire.
While Washington and Oregon are not considered swing states in the presidential election, the AP noted that, “Vancouver is the biggest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, the site of what is expected to be one of the closest U.S. House races in the country, between first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.”
In a written statement, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said: “This was a violent attack on democracy, and we will do everything to keep our election system strong and secure in Washington. … There will be 24-hour enhanced security around ballot drop-off locations.”
Portland police said evidence connected the incidents in Oregon and Washington, and a camera captured a suspect vehicle.
This was not the first time a ballot box was set ablaze during the 2024 election cycle, as one in Phoenix was targeted a week before the Vancouver and Portland incidents, though the Phoenix suspect reportedly claimed the action was unrelated to the election.
Snopes has written about ballot boxes in the past, including rumors during the 2020 election that California Republicans set up fake drop boxes, claims that “ballot drops” have unfairly swung elections and reports of voters depositing multiple ballots.
