More than 20 election offices have been targeted with suspicious packages this week

CNN — Suspicious packages were sent this week to election offices in more than 20 states, leading to an FBI investigation, triggering evacuations and rattling staff, according to a CNN survey of state offices and Associated Press reporting. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Thursday that his office has been notified by the US Postal Service that a suspicious package was “headed our way,” and that the mail service will try to intercept it, as it previously did last November when an envelope of fentanyl was sent to an election office in Fulton County. An official from the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office also told CNN that, after this week’s incident, they directed staff to wear gloves while handling mail, “out of an abundance of caution.” “When we have to take these extra measures, it really adds to the workload and it really adds to the anxiety that we have about doing our job, that really what we want to do is make sure people are able to vote,” Bell said. Oklahoma officials said testing by a local hazmat team “identified the substance as wheat cereal” or “flour.” David Becker, who runs the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research and advises election officials across the country, said Tuesday that some his contacts in the states told him that “the powder appears to be innocuous.” “Clearly, this is an attempt to terrorize the public servants who run our elections,” Becker said, praising “Republicans and Democrats” who helm local election offices. “Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident and safely collect the letters.” The FBI said federal investigators are now trying to determine how many letters were sent, who put them in the mail and “the motive behind the letters.” This is the second national wave of suspicious envelopes the past year after a similar incident last November.