Public election officials in five states have received what are described as “suspicious packages” on September 16 through the U.S. Mail. So far there have not been any reports of dangerous substances contained inside the parcels.
The packages containing what is only described as “powder” went to the secretaries of state and the election offices of Nebraska, Wyoming, Tennessee, Iowa, and Oklahoma, according to the governments in those states. This is the second such incident in 2024 with strange parcels showing up in the mail at state election offices.
The first worry on everyone’s mind in such cases is anthrax. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a Dr. Bruce Ivins mailed anthrax-laced letters around the country, which killed five people and sickened 17. Ivins killed himself just before charges could be brought against him.
So far there’s no indication in this recent incident that the powder is dangerous, but it sets people’s teeth on edge as early voting has started in several states and the atmosphere around elections in the U.S. has been tense for years.
The state offices that received the packages report that they contained white powder inside envelopes. Oklahoma determined that their envelope was full of normal flour; Wyoming has not yet said what was contained in the package they received. Offices in Iowa evacuated when they received the parcel, but Hazmat teams were able to quickly establish that there was no danger.
Paul Bate, Iowa Secretary of State, says his office has “specific protocols” for dealing with potentially dangerous packages, and that they followed those steps this time.
Topeka, Kansas, also evacuated a state office building when it received one of the parcels; both the secretary of state and the attorney general have offices in the building. Officials have not yet established whether the package sent to the building was meant for either of those offices.
In November of 2023, election offices in at least five states got similar packages, and some of them had letters that were laced with the dangerous synthetic opiate fentanyl.
