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.

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

    • @Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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      517 hours ago

      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.

      • @Fedizen@lemmy.world
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        18 hours ago

        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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        318 hours ago

        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.

    • @InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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      141 day 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.