Election Offices in at Least 32 States Have Received Suspicious Letters
Election offices in at least 32 states have received suspicious letters containing white powder, prompting evacuations and investigations. While most letters were intercepted by the postal service, several offices were forced to temporarily shut down.
Why it matters
The coordinated targeting of election infrastructure during a high-stakes election cycle raises significant security concerns regarding the safety of poll workers and the integrity of the voting process.
At 12:20 pm last Tuesday, an official in the Louisiana secretary of state’s office opened a mailed letter and white powder fell out. The office was immediately evacuated and the employee was rushed to the emergency room. The employee was not injured and subsequent tests showed that the substance was not harmful. By Wednesday, the office was back open.
“Tuesday’s event did not impact any election operations in preparation for the upcoming election,” Trey Williams, a spokesperson for Louisiana’s secretary of state, tells WIRED.
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