Over twenty electoral authorities have encountered suspected parcels during the past seven days.
Election administrators nationwide are on high alert as they approach the deadline to dispatch ballots to overseas and military voters, and as states gear up for the start of extensive in-person early voting and mail-in balloting.
As reported by CNN and AP, election offices in various states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wyoming, have received or intercepted suspicious envelopes.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced on Thursday that the US Postal Service alerted them about an incoming suspicious package, and the mail service intends to intercept it, akin to the previous incident in November 2021 when an envelope containing fentanyl was dispatched to an election office in Fulton County.
"We're on the lookout for it, and so are they," Raffensperger said.
North Carolina's State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell revealed that their office was also targeted this week. To ensure safety, staff now wear gloves while handling mail and isolate any potentially contaminated areas of the office. A similar directive was issued by the Kentucky Secretary of State's office post-incident.
"When we have to take these extra measures, it really adds to the workload and it really adds to the anxiety that we have about doing our job," Bell said, expressing concerns about heightened security measures affecting their ability to facilitate voting for the public.
Some offices in Kansas and New York were evacuated following the discovery of suspicious letters, although early assessments suggest that only a few of the envelopes contained harmful substances. According to David Becker, who heads the Center for Election Innovation & Research and advises election officials nationwide, the powdery substance found inside appeared non-threatening.
"Clearly, this is an attempt to intimidate the public servants who run our elections," Becker said, commending the "Republicans and Democrats" managing local election offices for remaining resilient in the face of these threats. "These scare tactics aimed at our public servants are ineffective, which is positive news."
Preliminary investigations indicate that some of the envelopes bore a return address from Takoma Park, Maryland, and were sent by a group called the "United States Traitor Elimination Army."
The FBI and US Postal Inspection Service are currently probing a series of threatening mailings to election officials in various states. Some of the letters contained an unidentified substance, and the agencies are actively collaborating with law enforcement partners to address each incident safely and collect the letters.
Federal investigators are now striving to establish the total number of letters sent, the individuals responsible, and the intended purpose behind the threats.
This latest wave of suspicious envelopes marks the second such occurrence in the past year, following a similar incident in November 2021. A source participating in a group that collaborates with election officials across the country informed CNN that the 2023 occurrence prompted these offices to heighten precautions and security measures to better safeguard themselves this time around.
Amidst these incidents, the political landscape is filled with unease and heightened tension as election officials contend with these threats.
Given the current climate of politics, these attempts to intimidate election workers cannot be overlooked or dismissed as mere nuisances.
