MARYSVILLE, Calif. — The Yuba County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Friday the substance inside a letter sent to the Registrar of Voters headquarters was not fentanyl.
But… it’s unclear what it actually was.
The letter was received and opened Jan. 16 according to Yuba County. An Elections Department staff member opened an envelope and noticed a powdery substance. The mail didn’t seem to be suspicious and was from a verified sender.
The sheriff’s office did a field test, which showed it was fentanyl, however additional testing by the California Department of Justice came back negative for controlled substances.
A slew of suspicious packages, including some laced with fentanyl, were sent to elections facilities in at least five states — including California — last November, prompting evacuations and delaying the counting of ballots in some local races. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service had to step in to intercept such packages in the mail system. Letters intended for election offices in Sacramento and Los Angeles were among those intercepted.
Election officials and workers across the country have increasingly faced threats and harassment since former President Donald Trump and his supporters began spreading false election claims after he lost the 2020 election.
Many election offices across the United States have taken steps to increase the security of their buildings and boost protections for workers. Facing the threats of fentanyl-laced packages, some have started stocking up on naloxone, the antidote to fentanyl.
The county said in a release that elections staff recently went through training on identifying suspicious packages and handling potentially dangerous substances. The office also has Narcan available in case of a narcotic exposure or overdose.
The California Secretary of State's Office has issued an advisory to county election officials with guidance on safety protocols and coordinating with local, state and federal authorities.
WATCH MORE ON ABC10: First person convicted of murder for selling fentanyl in California sentenced to 15 years
