A Washington state ballot box used to collect early votes ahead of the November 5 US election was set on fire on Monday in a suspected arson, which the FBI was investigating, local police said.
Footage from local news outlet KATU showed smoke pouring out of a Vancouver, Washington, ballot box, with multiple ballots appearing to be in flames. The box had not been emptied since 8 a.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday local time, and hundreds of ballots were destroyed, the station said, citing local officials.
The Vancouver Police Department said it responded to an arson attack at 4 a.m. PDT (1100 GMT) on Monday and removed a "suspicious device" located next to the ballot box.
The Washington secretary of state's office urged voters to check the status of their ballots online and to request a replacement if theirs was unaccounted for.