Federal authorities are investigating suspicious packages sent to elections and congressional offices around the country. One of those packages was en route to Tennessee’s Division of Elections, but leaders say it was intercepted.
The spate of suspicious mailings come as early voting has started Tennessee less than three weeks out from Election Day.
In a post to social media, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett says the package never reached its intended destination. He also thanked the FBI and U.S. Postal service for taking these threats seriously.
NPR reports the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are also investigating packages sent to election offices in Ohio, Oklahoma and Louisiana. At least one congressional office has also been targeted.
“This is one of the unfortunate things we have to deal with right now as election officials,” said Tennessee Elections Coordinator Mark Goins in an interview with NPR. “We condemn this because we’re just out there trying to do what’s right for the voters. We want voters to go out there and vote.”
Goins is also president of the National Association of State Elections Directors. That group released a joint statement with the National Association of Secretaries of State saying they are both “deeply concerned” by the mailings.
“Threats against election officials and workers have no place in our democracy. Those who administer our elections should never fear for their safety while carrying out their essential duties,” the statement said.
Flashback to 2024
This is not the first time that suspicious mailings have been sent to election offices. In 2024, similar packages were delivered to more than a dozen states, including Tennessee. And back then, Goins opened the package.
“I remember it very well,” Goins told NPR. “I opened the envelope. There was powder there. And after we instituted our security protocols, the next call was to my wife. I shared with her, you know, that I had been exposed to some powder. And told her I loved her and told her to tell the kids.”
No injuries were reported in relation to the 2024 letters, and so far, none have been reported from the recent mailings. It’s still unclear who sent them.
Goins told NPR that the suspicious letters add unnecessary stress to the already stressful job administering elections.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM