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Deadly substance mailed to Washington State election office

By Stepheny Price

Published November 08, 2023

Fox News
Authorities in Washington State investigating after envelopes filled with white powder mailed to county elections offices Video

An investigation is underway after authorities in Washington State say envelopes filled with white powder were mailed to multiple county election offices.

Authorities confirmed that at least one of the powder-filled envelopes tested positive for fentanyl, according to police in Renton and Spokane.

Tacoma Fire Trucks

Tacoma Fire was called to investigate Wednesday after envelopes with white powder were discovered at several election offices across the state.  (Tacoma Fire)

Spokane County reported receiving the envelopes just before 10:30 a.m. and Pierce County reported receiving theirs at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday. 

The Renton Police Department told Fox News Digital it is continuing to coordinate with the FBI in an investigation.

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Hazmat on scene at Washington election offices

Envelopes filled with white powder mailed to multiple county election offices across Washington. (FOX13)

"There were no employees at the elections' office that were injured or became ill from today’s incident. The employee who opened the envelope noticed the substance right away, placed a container over it, and pulled the fire alarm to evacuate the building," Cyndie Morris, Renton Police Information Officer tells Fox News Digital.

Morris says the envelope is now with the Hazmat team and that the FBI will continue to run an investigation.

"We will coordinate efforts w/the FBI, but our detective unit will move forward with the investigation in the meantime. Part of the investigation process will certainly include whether there were other election locations who experienced something similar, and if so, try to determine if there is a connection.  It’s too soon to tell at this juncture," said Morris.

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Election office officials stated that the envelope in question was opened with regular mail and was not in a ballot nor did it arrive with other ballots.

Hazmat crews were called in, but operations have resumed, and the election office says it is anticipating its ballot counting to be delayed.

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Fentanyl

Record numbers of fentanyl have been seized in 2021 (Joy Addison/Fox News)

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No injuries have been reported from any county. 

The Washington Secretary of State's office stated it is aware of the situations happening in all four counties across the state and says these are the only locations to receive envelopes filled with the powder-like substance.

Stepheny Price is a Writer at Fox News with a focus on West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime stories, homicide cases, and border security.

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