A suspicious package containing unbleached flour was received at the California Secretary of State’s headquarters in Sacramento, in what appears to be the latest in a series of suspicious packages sent to election officials across the country, officials reported Thursday afternoon.
In total, suspicious packages were sent to election officials in at least 15 other states, authorities said. The Sacramento package’s origin is unknown.
“Field testing and suspected chemical testing by state law enforcement revealed that the material in the package was not hazardous and tested positive for unbleached flour,” Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement, adding that federal authorities will continue to investigate the incident.
Weber said local election offices are being asked to take extra precautions before processing mail that arrives at their locations.
On Tuesday, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service launched an investigation into suspicious packages sent to election officials in more than a dozen states, including Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, Mississippi and Connecticut.
So far, there have been no reports of injuries from the packages or the harmful substances they contained. However, an “unknown substance” was found in some of the packages, FBI spokeswoman Kristen Setera said in a statement.
A package delivered to an Oklahoma election office also contained flour, state officials said.
This is the second time in recent months that election offices in multiple states have been targeted by suspicious mail.
In November, letters were sent to polling places in five states, several of which contained fentanyl, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported.
This latest wave of suspicious deliveries comes as early voting for the November election begins in several states. Former President Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, continues to insist, without evidence, that he lost the last election because of voter fraud, increasing scrutiny of the country’s voting process and election officials.
On Tuesday, the National Association of Secretaries of State, or NASS, released a statement condemning the suspicious mailings as well as recent assassination attempts against Trump.
“Our democracy has no place for political violence, threats or intimidation of any kind,” NASS said.
Weber said his office will continue to work with federal and state law enforcement to monitor any threats against California election workers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
