The ballot drop boxes in Washington and Oregon both have fire suppression systems that are designed to activate when the temperature inside reaches a certain point, coating ballots inside with a fire-suppressing powder.

For unknown reasons, the system failed to prevent the destruction of hundreds of ballots in Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from Portland.

  • PresidentCamacho@lemm.ee
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    6 days ago

    Just an FYI, all of these Ballot/Mail Box fires will be pointed to when trump attempts his second coup when he loses. I cant believe I’m casually talking about a future coup attempt in my country…

    This will give a fake appearance of legitimacy to his claims. I’m worried…

    • resin85@lemmy.ca
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      5 days ago

      The full plan is detailed here: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/little-secret-trump-johnson-election/.

      Basically, they just need enough States to withhold submitting valid slates of electors, which are due on Dec 11th. If that doesn’t happen, and it lowers the amount of electoral college voters enough so no single candidate has a majority, then the US House gets to decide.

      In other words, we’re fully reliant on GOP controlled States doing the right thing. We’re fucked.

      • PresidentCamacho@lemm.ee
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        4 days ago

        Oh wonderful, a new anxiety is unlocked… Though I will say that this wouldn’t happen until mid to late December, and we will have election results around Nov 6-8. This is definitely a much harder gambit with over a month of time knowing the result of the election, that is to say, it’ll be much more clearly a coup than if it happened during election day. Lets just hope this is a landslide for Harris, and the chance of this being a viable option for trump being even lower.

    • Dasus@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      And actually burns up Harris votes in the process, making it even easier for him.

      Fuckety fuck fuck.

      • SimpleMachine@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        While this is a shit move by whoever is doing this, it makes virtually no difference for the presidential election. WA electoral votes are winner-takes-all, and always go Dem. A few burned boxes won’t come close in making a difference for president, Biden won by almost a million votes in the last one. It will probably have a decent effect on local elections though.

      • Aermis@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        A lot of my Slavic people live there and they’re voting red. Unless it’s closer to the freeway I guess it’d be bluer there. But still. I wouldn’t think that these are filled to the brim with Harris votes

    • WoahWoah@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      That wrote “free gaza” on the incendiary devices and drives a Volvo? I mean… maybe, I guess.

        • WoahWoah@lemmy.world
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          Try learning about an event by reading more than just one source. See if you can do it all by yourself without someone feeding it to you. I’m rooting for you. Just think, you could have already learned this yourself using Google and it would have taken less time and words than you spent asking for it in your comment.

          • MojoMcJojo@lemmy.world
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            5 days ago

            You don’t have to be a dick about it. We’re all here to converse with each other, not google. Maybe they wanted to engage with another human being instead of a search engine. But instead they got you. Come on, chill out and treat others how you want to be treated. You can do it, I believe in you.

  • LovableSidekick@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Waiting for the car’s MAGA owner to be arrested and prosecuted. Probably expecting an eventual pardon from Bonespurs. Good luck wit dat.

  • BallsandBayonets@lemmings.world
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    6 days ago

    I was actually surprised that more ballot boxes weren’t being firebombed; I didn’t know they had fire suppression systems and am glad to hear it (and also slightly shocked that they’re necessary; chalk another point on the board for we’ve failed as a society and as a species).

    • Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee
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      6 days ago

      The armed forces have been voting by mail for decades (over a century).

      I love the cognitive dissonance of “patriots” who mouth platitudes for those who’ve served, while actively working against the same mechanisms for civilians. Brain morons.

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        5 days ago

        Vote by mail should be a federal mandate, let’s take all the money going to Israel and give it to the USPS instead for upgrades.

        My family is kinda split 50/50 politically but everyone spends time in one branch or another. That cognitive dissonance is fucking mind blowing when it’s your relative in uniform spouting the rhetoric of these stochastic terrorist shitbags

    • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      I hope they catch the guy alive and we prosecute the asshole and make a public example of this guy who is most likely Republican.

      • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        I would bet up to $1k that this guy is Republican, but I don’t actually care what party they belong to. Make an example of them.

      • Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        5 days ago

        When ya do sarcastic text, I recommend keeping all of your “i”s lowercase and all your “L”s capital.

        …though with autocorrect on a phone, doing so can be a huge pain in the butt, more effort than it’s worth.

  • auzy@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Gee. I wonder if it’s a right winger. As per normal, it’s totally unlikely…

  • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Vancouver?? I told yall that foreigners were voting in our elections!!!

    /s very much needed, as some moron on Facebook is 100% sincerely saying the same thing right now.

  • barsquid@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    This seems like an election fraud crime done by a poor person, so there will likely be consequences.

  • Snapz@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Watch, this dude is going to be an off duty cop and the PPB will come out to accuse the red ballot boxes of not “backing da blue”

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    7 days ago

    This is the Republican plan to steal the election. When does the civil war start? I give it 6 weeks before the first casualties pile in.

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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    7 days ago

    Courts should fast track this one to make an example of them. Arrest them and sentence them this week.

  • spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works
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    7 days ago

    There need to be extraordinary penalties for threatening election workers, intimidating voters, or destroying ballots. How about a minimum 20 year sentence to start?

    • x00z@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      20 years?

      In many countries you get the death sentence for treason like this.

      • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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        So like Russia, China, North Korea… maybe these aren’t the best role models.

        I’d much prefer a rehabilitation system where they tried to make the arsonist a productive member of society and maybe bar them from whatever media was instigating the demand he take action.

      • FinishingDutch@lemmy.world
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        I know, right? This sort of thing would get you a neat title like ‘enemy of democracy’ and a suitably unpleasant execution method. Like getting dropped from an aircraft into the ocean.

        It’s… probably… good the US doesn’t do it. But that’s definitely the sort of crime you should avoid anywhere outside of the US and Europe.

    • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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      I was thinking life in prison, and we haul them out every year during election season to talk about why they attacked ballot boxes, what they were trying to do, and if their life was worth throwing away for it.

    • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      I’m sorry, have you seen the j6 idiots?

      Do you honestly believe they can count to 20 even after taking off their socks?

      You can’t beat stupid, you can’t scare stupid, we need to just make voting one of those things they can’t get to easily, ie make the boxes like bank drops, or some other physical means.

      Rednecks gonna redneck.

  • sarcasticsunrise@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    I hate that the Orwellian thought of ballot boxes requiring armed guards just entered my brain, because it just did. It goes against everything democracy is supposed to be, but this is where American fascism has led my thoughts to rot

    • JaggedRobotPubes@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      With a sufficiently not-fucking-around response to the terrorists who did it, betcha won’t need guards.

      But America is gonna wrist slap nazis and say please.

      • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        You can’t prosecute the meth out of a redneck, America has tried for decades.

        There are people who have the basic mammalian capability for aversion association, and people who don’t, these morons are no more capable of learning than ants.

        Don’t bother trying to set an example, just use enforced attrition.

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            6 days ago

            If I were to run his statement through a different filter he’s stating “it’s in their genes and we need to kill them” but I don’t think he wants to use those words.

            • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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              6 days ago

              Oh yeah, that’s my thoughts as well. Which is weird, it’s not usually something you run into in this context.

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            6 days ago

            I think they’re referring to using punishment less as a deterrent to potential future offenders and more as a way of getting the people who prove themselves incapable of living in a civil society off of the streets. I don’t mean to speak for anyone, that was just my takeaway.

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                5 days ago

                You got to Godwin’s Law territory in record time, there. I’m talking about throwing the book at literal fucking terrorists.

                • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                  See that’s setting an example, which Inverse Parallax specifically said they were done with. Do you see my problem here?

                  Also concentration camps are not Godwin’s law territory, plenty of other countries have used them, including the US.

    • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      It’s not really orwellian.

      It’s Oregon, the number of methed up rednecks without shit to do is unimaginable.

      Orwellian would be if it were planned, this is just old-fashioned redneck stupidity.

      • sarcasticsunrise@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        I know, I just hate that this is my headspace regarding what are supposed to be free and democratic elections. It’s an existential kind of dread, and it fucking sucks

        • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          Lol, free and fair elections.

          Should try voting in the south while brown.

          This is the America I knew growing up, it’s weird to see everyone else shocked by it.

          Then again, I also feel like the filth leaked out and is trying to follow me :(

          • sarcasticsunrise@lemmy.world
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            6 days ago

            Yeah man, let’s just agree this sucks for anyone with any degree of empathy.

            I’m white, grew up in Florida and got to witness Bush v Gore firsthand as a teen, the psychic damage messed me up so bad, enough to the point where I started to pay attention and be more politically active.

            I’m casting a vote against fascism and racism - We’re in this together