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Chaos at the Ballot Box

Kaelyn McClements

November 26, 2024

2024 is the year of the 60th presidential election. This year Donald Trump, the 54th president of the United States, was hoping to regain office. Kamala Harris, the current vice president, succeeded President Biden as the democratic nominee for the party and ran against Trump. All eyes were on this year’s election because of the historic implications. After winning, Donald Trump became only the second US President set to serve a split term. Kamala Harris was the first woman of color to receive a major party nomination. With polls leading into the election being practically tied, voting this year was especially important. Some voters were worried by several events during the election process that made them unsure about the integrity of our democratic system. Here are the events in question and how they were dealt with.

Fires Set In Ballot Drop Boxes:

Multiple cases were reported of fires being set on ballot drop boxes in both Washington and Oregon. The first reported case occurred at a ballot drop box in Portland, Oregon. In the statements released from the Portland Police Bureau, the incident occurred on October 28, 2024 at 3:30 a.m. An “incendiary device” was placed on the outside of the ballot drop box, causing a fire. The fire was put out and the majority of the ballots were unaffected.

The next incident happened in Vancouver, Washington, about 15 miles north of Portland. The incidents are believed to be connected. The same situation occurred in which the ballot drop box was set on fire using an incendiary device placed on the outside of the box according to Vancouver Police. In this ballot drop box, the majority of the ballots were damaged.

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In both cases, the damaged ballots will be examined to try and determine information about the individuals who cast the ballots so they are able to re-cast their ballots, preventing loss of votes. The attacks were reportedly connected to another attack earlier in the month that also took place in Oregon. In each of these arsons, the words “Free Palestine” were reportedly written on the “incendiary devices” used to start these fires, according to the New York Times, raising questions about the motive of the perpetrator.

Bomb Threats on Election Day:

Throughout election day on Nov. 5, 2024, various polling locations throughout many crucial swing states received bomb threats. None of the threats were deemed credible with some of the threats being traced back to Russian email domains according to the FBI. Although these threats were ultimately considered untrue, some voting locations needed to be evacuated, with some extending their voting hours due to the loss of time from evacuations. In the end, the bomb threats did not have a great effect on the election and were dealt with correctly while officials did their best to allow everyone the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

Unopened Box of Ballots Found in Street:

A driver in Cutler Bay, Florida, found a sealed box and a sealed bag of ballots in the middle of 211th St. while driving at night. The items were immediately taken to the local police station and kept secure. A video of the incident was posted to twitter by the user @OnlyinDade. According to the Miami Herald, the ballots originated from the Miami-Dade County elections center. According to CBS, an election worker forgot to lock the truck and the items fell out of the trunk. The worker was fired and the ballots had already been processed so the issue was resolved with the help of the local driver.

Each of these events was resolved with preserving the integrity of the ballots and our democratic system in mind. Any voters that were worried their ballot was destroyed in the ballot drop box fires were able to request a replacement ballot, the ballots from those same fires were sorted through to find unique information located on the ballot envelopes to let the voters know they would need to order replacements. The ballots found in the road were already counted and processed so no votes were in jeopardy. Finally, the bomb threats caused several voting locations to be open after hours in order to make up for lost time from confusion and evacuations that may have resulted. These events obviously caused some uproar, however there is no proof that they negatively affected voter turnout and individuals ability to cast their vote in this year’s contested election.

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About the Contributor

Kaelyn McClements, Writer

Kaelyn McClements, a new writer for The Tower and a junior at John Adams, is thrilled to start her journey with the newspaper. As a very driven and artistic individual, Kaelyn thrives in environments full of happiness and creativity. Kaelyn is not only involved in The Tower; she also participates in varsity cheer and quiz bowl. Along with that, she is planning on starting a new club, called the Sustainability Club, with her friends. The club will be focused on raising money for national environmental charities through schoolwide fundraisers and events. On top of that, because Kaelyn just loves to have zero freetime, she is entering the International Baccalaureate program with intentions to earn the full IB diploma. She knows it will be hard work, but she is determined to succeed and takes pride in her academic achievements. To entertain her creative side, Kaelyn enjoys taking on small projects and doing various crafts, such as crocheting a blanket or sewing designs onto a hoodie. She is also very musical and dabbles in guitar and piano. She used to play the flute, but fell out of practice a long time ago. To pass the time when she is bored, or when she needs a change in her life, Kaelyn will often just add new things to the walls of her room. Other people will dye their hair or deep clean, but Kaelyn loves a cute little wall collage to brighten her spirits and add more of her personality to her room, which is her favorite place. It’s gotten to the point where she’s running out of space! Though she has participated in many different extracurricular activities throughout her life, it has taken Kaelyn a long time to find her “thing.” In high school, Kaelyn has worked hard to expand her horizons and branch out into new fields of interest. She loves thrifting, animals and nature, language, photography, and going on walks. She says, “My ideal walk time is around 8:30 at night because the sun is setting and it's just a little colder out.” Sometimes she is joined by members of her family, but most of the time she’ll walk alone with just her headphones to keep her company. She doesn’t prefer to be alone, though. Kaelyn is a very social person who enjoys spending time with friends, family, and her team. That’s one of the reasons why she is so excited to be a writer for The Tower– she is gaining a new community and group of people to connect with about a shared interest. Kaelyn hopes she survives and thrives during junior year and she thinks that joining The Tower is a step in the right direction.