US election: Amid warnings of threats to 'democratic process', early ballot boxes set on fire

New York, Oct 30 : Amid warnings from US federal authorities of threats "to disrupt the democratic process", early ballot collection boxes have been set on fire in two states.

A box in Washington State and another in Oregon were set ablaze on Monday, while the incendiary devices planted in two others failed to detonate, according to local officials.

Another ballot box in Washington was destroyed on October 8, and authorities said the attacks were connected because of the similarities in the devices used.

Meanwhile in Florida, a container and a bag with ballots was found on the side of a road, according to the Miami Herald.

Officials minimised the problem saying that they had their seals intact and had already been scanned and tabulated.

According to the local election official, the container and the bag had fallen off a truck because the door was not locked and the driver has been dismissed, The Herald reported.

Videos of the discovery of the ballots were posted on X.

The official election day is next Tuesday, but most states have started early polling allowing voters to get ballots which they can send by post, put in ballot boxes, or deposit in person at polling places depending on the state procedures.

The Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies in a series of bulletins to local officials warned that “domestic violent extremists” (DVEs) were planning to disrupt the elections with attacks on politicians, candidates, poll workers, and judges, as well as on ballot boxes, campaign events and polling booths.

The bulletins were released by 'Property of the People', an NGO that seeks to make public government information.

One bulletin presciently warned that extremists were discussing attacks on ballot drop boxes where early votes are deposited.

"Some social media users are discussing and encouraging various methods of sabotaging ballot drop boxes and avoiding detection, likely heightening the potential for targeting of this election infrastructure through the 2024 election cycle," the bulletin said.

"Election infrastructure remains an attractive target for some domestic violent extremists (DVEs) and other threat actors with election-related grievances. Some threat actors may perceive ballot drop boxes as 'soft targets' because they are more accessible," it said.

Another bulletin said that the threats were coming from extreme right-wing groups like Proud Boys.

"The 2024 presidential election cycle continues to reflect a divergence in current US political and social ideologies," it said.

The bulletin said that the two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump "will continue to increase hostile ideologically-motivated rhetoric, as well as conspiracy theories and disinformation".

"Internationally, wars between key socio-political allies will continue to have a large impact on foreign policy, which will cause cascading effects within the US political arena," it added.