Hundreds of votes have been destroyed after ballot boxes were set on fire in Oregon and Washington.

Police are investigating after fires were also started in Portland and Vancouver in the early hours of Monday (28 October).

Clark County auditor Greg Kimsey in Vancouver told The Associated Press that the ballot drop box at the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center had a fire suppression system inside, but for some reason it wasn't effective.

Responders pulled a burning pile of ballots from inside the box, and Kimsey said hundreds were lost.

Kimsey said: “It’s a direct attack on democracy.”