‘There’s nothing more important’: Deschutes County clerk seeks to reassure voters in wake of ballot box attacks

(Update: Adding video, comments from county clerk and voter)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- It's officially a week before Election Day, and recent arson attacks are raising more concerns about ballot drop box safety. Two ballot boxes were set on fire Monday in Portland and Vancouver, Washington, raising questions for many voters about whether their ballot will be safe.

Many ballot boxes, like the ones that were burned, have fire suppression systems within the box to put out any fires. However, the ballot box in Vancouver had a malfunctioning system and it was unable to put out the flames, causing hundreds of ballots to be burned.

Now, it's causing security ramp-ups and election pressure for local officials.

"There's nothing more important than the security of our elections, obviously. And when I heard that there were ballot boxes damaged, it's of great concern," Deschutes County Clerk Steve Dennison said Tuesday.

Dennison says voters should have no fears about submitting their ballots this election.

"These ballot drop boxes are secured by our team, by our staff. They're county property. Law enforcement is aware of where these drop boxes are and who's picking the ballots up," he said. "We have our teams going out to each drop box regularly, removing the ballots so that we can process them."

Whether due to ballot box worries or not, many voters were turning in their ballots at the county clerk's office on Tuesday.

"We're the land of the free. And I feel very, very saddened, but I think it's damage against democracy," said voter Matthew Boulton.

This is Boulton's first time voting after immigrating from the United Kingdom 13 years ago. He's urging residents to not be afraid to vote.

"We're not a third-world country. This is America. This is Oregon," Boulton said. "I'm proud to be here. And I hope that those people felt shame with what they've done as thousands of people's just hopes, dreams - you know, they're making the effort to vote. And everyone should get out there and do that, because there are people in the world that can't."

The county is urging voters who have not yet received ballots to call the county clerk's office for a replacement ballot, or come in and vote in person.