By GENE JOHNSON

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — A “suspicious vehicle” linked to incendiary devices that set fire to ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington states has been identified, police said Monday.

Surveillance footage captured a Volvo stopping at a delivery box in Portland, Oregon, just before nearby security personnel noticed a fire inside the box on Monday, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner said at a news conference.

While the fire damaged three ballots inside, officials said a fire at a ballot box near Vancouver, Washington, early Monday destroyed hundreds of ballots. Police said the devices were attached to the outside of the boxes.

Authorities said at a news conference in Portland that enough material had been collected from the incendiary devices to show that Monday’s two fires were linked, and that they were also linked to an Oct. 8 incident in which an incendiary device was planted at a different ballot box. PO box in Vancouver.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Greg Kimsey, the longtime elected supervisor in Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver. “It is a direct attack on democracy”

Ballot boxes in Washington and Oregon both have fire suppression systems designed to activate when the temperature inside reaches a certain point and coat the inside of the ballots with fire-extinguishing powder.

The system appeared to be working at the Portland delivery box, and security guards were nearby to help extinguish the fire. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said the county contracts with private security guards to have “roving patrols” that roam the county 24 hours a day and “keep watch” on all distribution boxes.

He said one of the guards was at the district election office, heard a sound similar to an explosion, possibly the fire extinguishing system being activated, and called the police.

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

Vancouver is the largest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District and the location of what is expected to happen. One of the closest US House races in the country, between first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.

“I hope the perpetrator of this reprehensible act is caught quickly and that local and federal law enforcement has my full support as they work to keep our democratic process safe and secure,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement. he said.

He said he requested a law enforcement presence at all polling places in Clark County overnight during Election Day.

“Southwest Washington cannot risk losing a single vote to arson and political violence,” he said in the statement.

Representatives for Kent’s campaign did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.

The Portland Police Bureau said the fire there was reported around 3:30 a.m. during the Multnomah County election, only three ballots there were damaged, and the office plans to contact those voters to help them obtain new ballots.

A few hours later, television crews in Vancouver captured footage of smoke billowing from a ballot box at a transit hub.

There are security cameras covering the delivery box and its surrounding area, Kendiy said.

The final ballot collection at the transit center distribution box occurred at 11 a.m. Saturday, Kimsey said. After that, anyone who dropped off their ballot there was asked to contact the auditor’s office to get a new ballot.

Kendiy said the office will increase the frequency of ballot collection and change collection hours to the evening to prevent ballot boxes from being filled with ballots overnight at a time when similar crimes are likely to be committed.

An incendiary device was also found on or near a ballot box in downtown Vancouver early October 8. Police said this did not damage the ballot box or destroy any ballots.

The FBI said in a statement that 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 and provide information. tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324).