Phoenix police reported that the suspect said the arson was not politically motivated and that he just wanted to be arrested, according to multiple outlets.

Mail-in ballots for the Nov. 5 election were damaged when a fire was set to a USPS mailbox overnight in Arizona, which is expected to be a hotly contested swing state. Approximately 20 ballots were damaged in the early Thursday morning blaze in Phoenix,

Police have arrested a suspect for allegedly starting a fire in a United States Postal Service mailbox in Central Phoenix that damaged a number of election ballots, officials announced Thursday.

Voters who used the mailbox within the last 36 hours should check the status of their ballots, said Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer.

A mailbox in central Phoenix with 20 ballots inside was set ablaze early Thursday morning. The ballots placed inside the box at 7th Avenue and Indian School Road were damaged as a result of the fire,

While responding to the incident, firefighters forced the box open and extinguished the fire, it added. A figure was not given for the number of ballots damaged but ABC15 reported that approximately 20 were damaged,

Around 20 election ballots have been burned in Phoenix, Arizona during a suspected arson incident targeting a U.S. Postal Service mailbox, officials say.

Authorities reportedly apprehended an individual suspected of setting fire to the box that had 20 mail-in votes, two weeks before Election Day in the swing state.