Although rare, two fires at ballot boxes in Portland/Vancouver zone on Monday could worry some voters about the safety of their ballots.

While the box fire in Southeast Portland damaged only three ballots, the box fire in Clark County may have destroyed “hundreds,” officials said. And election officials in both states condemned the apparent attacks.

“Make no mistake, an attack on the ballot box is an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable,” said Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade. “Whatever the motivation behind this incident, there is no justification for any attempt to disenfranchise voters.”

In both Oregon and Washington, voters can track their ballots to make sure they’ve been counted. Here are some options for those concerned about the security of their vote:

Postal Mail: While mail delivery is certainly possible, the Oregon ballot return envelope is postage-paid and can be returned to election officials by regular mail. Ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, November 5, 2024.

Voters can also return their ballots directly to any post office and drop them into the outgoing mail slot.

Internal library boxes: Not all libraries have inside boxes, but many do. Some Multnomah County libraries are closed for renovations. Kenton, Hollywood, Gregory Heights, Hillsdale and other libraries in the county allow ballots to be submitted in the book slot. Visit Multnomah County website for more information.

Public buildings:

• Multnomah County’s Duniway-Lovejoy Election Building at 1040 SE Morrison St. has a 24-hour pedestrian zone.
• Gresham Voting Center has a drop box located inside the building on the first floor, 600 NE Eighth St., Gresham

In Clark County voters can return their ballots to the Elections Office, 1408 Franklin St., Vancouver. Other sites do not specify whether the boxes are inside or freestanding outside, but some locations, including post offices and administrative offices, may have inside drop boxes or use mail slots. Visit the website for locations: clark.wa.gov/elections/ballot-deposit-locations.