A threatening letter sent from Portland to the King County Elections office in Seattle has spurred an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service after “trace amounts” of fentanyl were found on the letter and in the envelope, the elections office said Wednesday.
The elections office received the letter Tuesday as voters across Washington cast ballots in the state’s 2023 primary, said Halei Watkins, a King County Elections spokesperson.
Elections office employees opened the letter and notified their supervisors of its “vaguely threatening” language. The supervisors reported the letter to the postal service for investigation, Watkins said.
Watkins said tests conducted by the postal service’s investigative branch concluded that “trace amounts” of fentanyl were present on the letter. The letter was postmarked from Portland.
The paid staff members who initially opened the letter did not come in contact with the drug, and they did not feel any adverse effects or experience any injuries. Masks and gloves are available as standard practice when handling ballots or mail at the facility, Watkins said.
The mailroom of the King County Elections office was closed for a couple of hours Tuesday for a precautionary deep cleaning, Watkins said. She said the office continued to operate as normal for the remainder of the day. Office employees were hard at work Wednesday counting ballots ahead of the Aug. 16 certification deadline.
Watkins said the threatening letter was the first such incident to occur at the office in the five years she has worked there.
“We’ve checked in with everybody to make sure that they feel good and safe,” Watkins said. “Obviously we don’t ever want a situation like this, but it could have been worse, so we are grateful it did not end up being worse.”
