The police in the US northeastern city of Boston reported on Monday that an early voting ballot box was set on fire, the case is under investigation
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th October, 2020) The police in the US northeastern city of Boston reported on Monday that an early voting ballot box was set on fire, the case is under investigation.
According to the Boston Police Department, somebody set the box on fire at 08:00 GMT on Sunday. The police arrived at the scene 11 minutes later and found firefighters already on the spot but with smoke still coming from the voting box.
"The ballot box appeared to be on fire, but the firefighters were unable to determine if the fire was burning inside of the box. Eventually, crews were able to extinguish the fire by filling the ballot box with water," the Boston Police Department said.
The police department has published a photo of the suspect on its site and asked for the public's assistance in identifying him.
"What happened in the early hours of this morning to the ballot dropbox in Copley Square is a disgrace to democracy, a disrespect to the voters fulfilling their civic duty, and a crime," Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Secretary of the Massachusetts William Galvin stated.
Boston Election Department said that the voting box "held about 122 ballots, and 87 of them were legible and able to be processed" and added that the voters "who deposited their ballot at the Copley Square dropbox between 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 24, and about 4 a.m. on Sunday, October 25, should check the status of their ballot."
The US presidential election, in which Trump is facing off Democratic nominee Joe Biden, is set for November 3. Early voting has already started in some states.
