A ballot box in Vancouver, WA was set ablaze early Monday morning. The fire, which officials estimate destroyed hundreds of ballots, is being investigated by the FBI. Many ballot boxes have fire suppression systems, it is unclear whether the Vancouver ballot box had such a system and, if it did, why so many ballots were damaged.

On the same day another ballot box fire was reported, this time in Portland. An incendiary device believed to be the source of the fire was found inside the box. The fire suppression system inside the Portland ballot box successfully activated, and officials say only three ballots were destroyed.

The fires come at a time of increased political unrest and disinformation in the country.

Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights at Free Press, Nora Benavidez, says that, while these forms of violence are concerning, it is important to emphasize that such attacks on ballot boxes are relatively rare.

“There have been concerns for some time that people who dislike the results of the presidential election, particularly in the event that Donald Trump loses, there are concerns that his supporters would be unwilling to accept that result,” said Benavidez.

Much of the political violence from Donald Trump’s supporters have been fueled by misinformation about election fraud spread on social media networks like X (formerly known as Twitter). Benavidez says that the aim of such political violence has largely focused on physical ballots.

“The most obvious example was January 6th in which people stormed our U. S. Capitol to interrupt and disrupt the formal national certification by Congress of the general election. Their attempt was really to get those physical ballots,” said Benavidez.

Director of Florida State University’s Center of Election Law Michael Morley says that destruction of ballot boxes is a serious crime that both law enforcement and election officials take seriously.

“Anyone engaged in these sorts of actions are facing the possibility of stiff prison sentences,” said Morley.

Law enforcement in Portland released photos of a black Volvo which they say may be connected to the fire. The FBI is actively investigating both the fires in both Portland and Vancouver.

“I think that toning down the overall rhetoric concerning the election could go some way in reducing the likelihood of future violence, but at the end of the day it’s impossible to prevent,” said Morley.

Officials in both Washington and Oregon are encouraging voters whose ballots may have been destroyed in the fires to request new ballots.

Ben Kearney, a senior who lives in Vancouver, says he never anticipated violence in his hometown.

“My hometown being the location of an arson attack of ballots was not what I expected to happen this close to the election,” said Kearney.

Kearney pointed to the close race between Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D) and Joe Kent (R) for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District as one potential motivator for the political violence, and emphasized that the ballot box fires are unsettling so close to the election.

“Whether the arsonist was going after this in Vancouver, this is a scary thing to have occurred so close to November 5th,” said Kearney.

Benavidez emphasized that polling places and ballot boxes are highly monitored.

“[We have to] be very clear about the threats and we also have to remind people that so far when tested our legal and electoral systems have remained strong, said Benavidez, “that doesn’t mean that they are immune from attack. It means that we really need people to participate in democracy.”