New Delhi. Just a week before the presidential elections in America, incidents of ballot box fire have occurred at two places. It is noteworthy that voting is to be held in America on November 5, but before that, advance voting is going on in many states and more than 2.5 crore people have already voted. That’s why concern is being raised about the incident of fire in the ballot box. It is also being said that fears of violence breaking out on and after the voting day in the US elections may prove to be true.
However, the first incident of fire is in Vancouver, Washington, where a ballot box caught fire. Hundreds of ballot papers collected in it were burnt to ashes. The second incident of ballot box burning occurred in Portland, Oregon. However, the ballot papers were saved from burning there. It is being said that only three ballots were burnt. Elections official Tim Scott said voters whose ballot papers were burned will be contacted and given new ballots. How the fire started is not yet known. Election officials are trying to trace those who set the fire through CCTV footage.
According to reports, hundreds of ballot papers have been burnt in a burnt ballot box in Vancouver. Laura Shepard, spokesperson of the Election Directorate there, has requested all those who cast ballots in this box after 11 am on Saturday to verify their ballots. Meanwhile, an FBI spokesperson has said that these incidents are being investigated with the help of state and local agencies. It is noteworthy that FBI and Homeland Security had warned of such incidents.
The agencies had said that extremists could incite violence during the elections. Recently, other similar incidents have also come to light. A mailbox caught fire outside a post office in Phoenix, Arizona. A person has been accused of arson there, although the police say that this was not an election related matter.