Georgia and Washington authorities are investigating “suspicious” envelopes sent to election offices Wednesday, with officials describing the packages as acts of “terrorism.”
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs reported that election workers across several counties received envelopes containing “unknown powdery substances” on Wednesday, prompting those offices to be evacuated.
An envelope with white powder received by the Spokane County Elections Office tested positive for fentanyl and negative for agents and explosives, the Spokane Police Department confirmed.
Another powdery envelope sent to election workers in King County also tested positive for fentanyl, a “presumptive” field test suggested. Detective Robert Onishi with the Renton Police Department told the Seattle Times that the powder will undergo further lab testing to confirm and determine how much fentanyl it contains.
Yet another elections office in Pierce County was evacuated after a worker found an envelope “that dispersed a white powdery substance.”
Washington State Patrol and Tacoma fire crews responded and determined the substance was baking soda, said a police spokesman.
A letter inside the envelope said “something to the effect of stopping the election,” the spokesman told the outlet. “There was no candidate that was identified. There was no religious-affiliated group identified. There was no political issue identified. It was just that vague statement.”
“The safety of staff and observers is paramount as elections workers across the state open envelopes and count each voter’s ballot,” Secretary Hobbs said in a statement from his office. “These incidents underscore the critical need for stronger protections for all election workers. Democracy rests upon free and fair elections. These incidents are acts of terrorism to threaten our elections.”
In Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed that Fulton County election officials had also received “suspicious letters.”
“We’re working with our state and federal partners to determine if any additional Georgia officials are being targeted,” Raffensperger said in a statement obtained by ABC News. “Domestic terrorists will not trample on our right to free and fair elections.”
Georgia officials did not specify what was in the envelopes due to the ongoing investigation.
“We are aware of the reports, and the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating this matter,” a Department of Justice spokesperson told the outlet.
Branches of the FBI in Georgia and Washington also confirmed their collaboration in the investigation with local law enforcement.
“FBI Seattle, along with our law enforcement partners, responded to multiple incidents involving suspicious letters sent to ballot counting centers in Washington state,” the bureau’s local office said. “As this is an ongoing matter, we do not have any further comment, but the public can be assured that law enforcement will continue to keep the public’s safety as its top priority.”
Hobbs’ press release also recounted how election officials around the state received additional suspicious substances during Washington’s August 1 primary:
King County and Okanogan County election officials received suspicious substances in envelopes. The envelope and letter received by King County Elections were turned over to the United States Postal Inspection Service, which performed an analysis that detected trace amounts of fentanyl. The substance found in the Okanogan County envelope was determined to be unharmful.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) denounced the disturbing deliveries as a “threat to the vote itself.”
“Our elections are sacred, and the guardianship of democracy begins at the local level in county offices across our state. Any threat to election workers is a threat to the vote itself,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This is, unfortunately, just the latest attack on democracy as our county offices have had to pay for increased security in recent years,” Inslee continued. “Every elected official should take this as an opportunity to reaffirm the integrity of our system, the will of the people, and the public servants from our communities who make it work,” he said, adding that he is still “confident” in his state’s election integrity.
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