A suspect has been arrested in the burning of a post office collection mailbox in Arizona, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego posted on social media, hours after several ballots were damaged in a mailbox fire overnight.

The suspect allegedly set fire to the drive-up mailbox at a postal service station shortly after midnight Thursday. 

What You Need To Know

  • A suspect has been arrested in the burning of a post office collection mailbox in Arizona, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego posted on X, hours after several ballots were damaged in a mailbox fire overnight

  • The suspect allegedly set fire to the drive-up mailbox at a postal service station shortly after midnight Thursday

  • The Phoenix Police Department responded to the fire at 1:20 a.m. and was able to open the collection box and put out the fire

  • The Postal Inspector took the damaged ballots and other mail in the receptacle, according to the police; the Arizona Secretary of State estimates five ballots were destroyed in the fire

“There is zero tolerance for criminal activity in our community, and we are working collaboratively with every level of government to bring the perpetrator to justice,” the mayor said on social media before the arrest, adding that she was closely monitoring the situation with the Arizona Secretary of State, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and local and federal law enforcement. 

The Phoenix Police Department responded to the fire at 1:20 a.m. and was able to open the collection box and put out the fire, according to Fire Department Captain Rob McDade. The city’s Fire and Police Department investigators gathered surveillance video from the scene.

The Postal Inspector took the damaged ballots and other mail in the receptacle, according to the police. The Arizona Secretary of State estimates five ballots were destroyed in the fire.

“I’m deeply troubled by the arson attack on a USPS collection box in Phoenix,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said in a statement. “This deliberate act of vandalism undermines the integrity of our democratic process.”

The U.S. Postal Service said its inspectors are working with local election officials to ensure any affected election mail is remedied, a spokesperson said, adding that the incident was rare. Officials in Maricopa County urged people who think they could be impacted to check the status of their ballot on the county elections website. 

The fire comes as election officials are on high alert with two weeks to go until Nov. 5. Arizona is one of 23 states that allow voters to cast their ballots by mail. In the 2020 election, 43% of voters cast their ballots by mail according to the U.S. Census. 

President Joe Biden narrowly won the state in 2020 with 49.36% of the vote compared with 49.06% who voted for former President Donald Trump. Trump won Arizona in 2016 with 49.5% of the vote, compared with 45.4% for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. 

Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris are currently polling neck and neck in Arizona and the other six battleground states that will determine the outcome of this year’s election.