US Elections 2024: Washington State puts the National Guard on alert

The governor of the US state of Washington (Northwest), Jay Inslee, announced yesterday Friday that he is activating “proactive” elements of the National Guard and putting them on alert because of “general and specific” intelligence and concerns about the outbreak of violence just 24 hours before the controversial presidential election on Tuesday.

The state, where vice presidential candidate and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is expected to easily beat former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump, according to polls, is one of two where special boxes in which people were able to submit their ballots in advance were torched this week.

The Clark County Elections ballot drop box at the Fisher's Landing Transit Center was lit on fire this morning. Clark Co. Auditor Greg Kimsey says hundreds of ballots were inside at the time, the last pickup being 11AM Saturday. Full story here https://t.co/sYkz8ydEqH @KATUNews pic.twitter.com/a8vw0QXXoY

— Evan Bell (@evanbellKATU) October 28, 2024

Advance voting is allowed in Washington, D.C., and already more than 2 million residents have voted, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab.

“Based on general and specific information and concerns about the potential for violence or other illegal activities related to the 2024 general election, I want to ensure that we are fully prepared to respond,” explained Democratic Governor Inslee in a letter uploaded to his website yesterday.

Hundreds of ballots were damaged or destroyed due to the use of an incendiary device in the special box where people could leave their votes in advance in Vancouver, according to Inslee.

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