Man allegedly lights mailbox on fire, damaging Arizona voter ballots, but denies political motivation: Police

Arizona police said they were quickly able to identify and arrest a man who allegedly damaged voter ballots by lighting a mailbox on fire, but he has denied being motivated by politics.

'Ballot abuse is a felony in Arizona, and mailbox vandalism is a federal crime.'

The Phoenix Fire Department responded to a fire reported in the early morning on Thursday at a drive-up mail collection box. They said an unknown man lit a fire inside the box at about 1:30 a.m. and then fled the area.

"Approximately 20 electoral ballots were damaged, along with additional miscellaneous mail," said officials of the Phoenix Fire Department.

A postal inspector took possession of the damaged mail, including the ballots.

Police said that surveillance video led to the arrest of a 35-year-old man who allegedly told them he "wanted to be arrested" and denied having any political motivation for damaging ballots among the mail.

A USPS spokesperson and postal inspector said that such instances are rare.

"Postal Inspectors are working with the local election commission to ensure any affected election mail is remedied and that other mail is routed to the appropriate parties," read a statement from the USPS.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) said that officials were working to make sure voters whose ballots were damaged could recast their votes.

"Thanks to the swift response coordinated between election officials, law enforcement, and the postal service, we were able to recover many undamaged ballots and affected voters will be contacted to make sure they’re able to cast a vote. Any attack that strikes at our democratic process carries criminal consequences," said Fontes.

"Ballot abuse is a felony in Arizona, and mailbox vandalism is a federal crime," he added. "Counties across Arizona have already equipped ballot drop boxes with security controls to prevent and detect physical attacks. We are committed to continuing our partnerships that protect and preserve every citizen's right to vote."

Here's a news report on YouTube about the incident.

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