Rampant voter fraud is still a concern, of course. Municipal elections in Paterson, New Jersey, were invalidated because of it. Ballots have been trashed. Mail carriers have purposefully done this as well. Thankfully, these clowns have been caught, but with the Postal Service not being able to guarantee these ballots being delivered within a timeframe that they can be counted and scores of mail-in ballots being rejected—Democrats have quietly shifted to advocating for in-person voting, which was safe from the get-go.
But, forget fraud claims for now. I'm not saying the risk has reduced, but the safety of the ballots, in general, is now at risk. In Virginia, someone was trying to break into mailboxes. In Boston, someone took it up a notch by trying to set them on fire (via CBS Evening News):
Authorities have charged a man for allegedly lighting a ballot box on fire and damaging dozens of ballots in Boston over the weekend, police said Monday. The Boston Election Department said 87 of the 122 ballots inside the dropbox were legible and able to be processed, but the rest were destroyed or unable to be counted.
Worldly Armand, 39, was taken into custody late Sunday after officers matched his appearance with the description of a person wanted for the alleged arson, police said. After a query by the officers, they found Armand was wanted on a warrant out of a local court for receiving stolen property. He will be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on a charge of willful and malicious burning.
Police said smoke was coming out of a ballot box near Copley Square early Sunday morning and firefighters extinguished the fire by filling it with water. The Boston Police Department released photos to help find the culprit.
The FBI and police are investigating a fire that was set inside a ballot box in Boston on Sunday.
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) October 26, 2020
The Boston Election Department said 87 of the 122 ballots were legible and able to be processed, but the rest were destroyed or unable to be counted. https://t.co/hQElGCCEGp pic.twitter.com/n34OoBmeKD
BREAKING: Boston Police just announced they have arrested 39-year-old Worldy Armand in connection with the “arson attack” on the ballot box on Boylston Street. He is expected to be arraigned on the charge of “Willful and Malicious Burning” Details on @wbz at noon https://t.co/uHT5rdpLco
— Anna Meiler (@AnnaMeiler) October 26, 2020
US Attorney Andrew Lelling & FBI SAIC Koe Bonavolonta released a statement after the attempted burning of a ballot box.
— Chris Villani (@ChrisVillani44) October 26, 2020
“It is a top priority of our offices to help maintain the integrity of the election process in Massachusetts by aggressively enforcing federal election laws.” pic.twitter.com/plYpbN39Sd
If you can, vote in-person. It’s safe and avoids a security risk like someone setting your ballot on fire.