Oregon candidate calls on voters to curate votes after ballot box fires – Washington Examiner

Asher NotheisOctober 30, 2024

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Oregon candidate calls on voters to curate votes after ballot box fires

Republican Congressional candidate Joe Kent has called on voters to ensure their votes are properly counted after ballot box fires have occurred in a pair of states, assuring voters it’s “very much possible” to get a replacement ballot.

Both Oregon and Washington have seen ballot boxes burned in suspected arson attacks ahead of Election Day, the former of which took place at Fisher’s Landing Transit Center in Vancouver. Voters who dropped off their ballots after 8 a.m. on Sunday are being told to contact the Election Auditor’s Office as soon as possible to receive a new ballot, a call Kent echoed Wednesday.

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“It’s very much possible for folks to go out and get a replacement ballot and make sure their votes actually counted,” Kent said on Fox News’s Fox and Friends First. “So we’ve been early voting for about two weeks right now, and so the ballot-checking process is a key part of why we’re encouraging folks to vote early. So there’s still time to get their vote counted and that’s our main goal right now, it is to drive voter turnout.”

Kent is running against incumbent Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) after narrowly losing by less than 3,000 votes to the Democratic lawmaker in the 2022 midterm elections. The Republican candidate contended he was running in “a common sense district” and former President Donald Trump could push him over the finish line, considering Trump won this district in 2016 and 2020.

A damaged ballot drop box is displayed during a news conference at the Multnomah County Elections Division office, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Ahead of the election, Kent argued his opponent is attempting to portray herself as “a moderate” but contended her voting history in Congress said otherwise. He then said Gluesenkamp Perez had voted “lockstep” with President Joe Biden and the other Democratic leaders.

“So what we’re doing is exposing her record and just articulating how we’re going to get inflation under control, take care of this law-and-order issue that we have, close the border, and just really restore common sense,” he said.

In the wake of the ballot box fires, Gluesenkamp Perez told voters they cannot “yield to intimidation and must continue to stand up against unpatriotic acts.” She has also called for ballot drop boxes to have overnight security through Election Day.

This image released by the Portland Police Bureau shows a ballot box after an incendiary device was discovered inside in Portland, Oregon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (Portland Police Bureau via AP)

The Portland Police Bureau has since released photos of the suspect vehicle believed to have been involved in the ballot box fires. The vehicle is described as a black or dark-colored 2001-2004 Volvo S-60.