Mississippi Secretary of State among election officials nationwide to receive suspicious package

• County election officials across Mississippi were notified of the incident and urged to take extra precaution.

The Mississippi Secretary of State’s Elections Division received a suspicious package on Monday, putting the Magnolia State among at least 10 other state election offices nationwide to receive similar packages.

Other states reportedly receiving packages containing a white powdery substance include Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York and Rhode Island. No hazardous materials have been found.

The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating the matter.

The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office said Tuesday that federal agencies and partners had notified them of the possibility of receiving the package and the office was on high alert. 

“Upon receipt, our staff handled the package in accordance with guidelines distributed by federal agents, and the package was promptly picked up by the Mississippi Department of Homeland Security where it is currently being tested,” the Secretary of State stated on Tuesday.

In addition, the Elections Division notified county election officials across Mississippi of the incident and urged to take extra precaution.

As reported by the Associated Press, the latest scare comes as early voting has begun in several states ahead of the November General Election for President, Senate, Congress and key statehouse offices.

“Local election directors are beefing up security to keep workers and polling places safe while also ensuring that ballots and voting procedures won’t be tampered with,” the AP reported Tuesday. “The National Association of Secretaries of State condemned what it described as a ‘disturbing trend’ of threats to election workers leading up to Nov. 5, as well as the second apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.”