Thurston County elections office is sixth in WA to receive suspicious envelope

SEATTLE — The Thurston County Auditor’s Office received a suspicious envelope with white powder like the ones sent to elections offices in five other Washington counties.

The county intercepted the envelope, which the U.S. Postal Service had sent advance warning about, and it was isolated before elections staff opened it, according to the Auditor’s Office. Staff turned the envelope over to law enforcement.

Ballot processing was not impacted, according to a news release.

Last Wednesday, elections offices in King, Skagit, Spokane and Pierce counties were evacuated after receiving envelopes with unknown white powder. Snohomish County elections officials turned over a piece of suspicious mail to the FBI on Thursday. The envelopes sent to King and Spokane counties tested positive in a “presumptive” field test for traces of fentanyl, and the Pierce County envelope contained baking soda.

No one has been harmed by the packages. The FBI is investigating all the incidents.

Elections offices in Nevada, California, Georgia and Oregon also received suspicious letters, according to The Washington Post.

“These incidents underscore the critical need for stronger protections for all election workers,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a news release. “Democracy rests upon free and fair elections. These incidents are acts of terrorism to threaten our elections.”

The FBI is also investigating a series of suspicious packages recently sent to Seattle synagogues, causing concern in the local Jewish community.