Postal inspectors stop suspicious envelope intended for Alaska elections officials

Workers at the Alaska Division of Elections’ State Review Board consider ballots on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at the division’s headquarters in Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Officials with the U.S. Postal Service intercepted a threatening envelope sent to the Alaska Division of Elections on Tuesday, one of a number of similar packages sent to elections officials in other states, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom announced.

Dahlstrom, who oversees elections work in the state, said in a written statement that the Postal Service notified the division that it had been targeted and that postal inspectors had seized a suspicious envelope and its contents for further investigation.

Further details about the Alaska-bound envelope were not immediately available.

Similar suspicious envelopes have been reported by elections officials in several states. In Nebraska, officials described a large yellow envelope containing white powder and whose sender was identified as the “United States Traitor Elimination Army.”

That description was confirmed by Iowa officials, who briefly evacuated a public building after receiving a similar envelope. In Kansas, a suspicious envelope and a suspicious package prompted evacuations on Monday. 

No illnesses or other physical harm has been reported in connection with any of the packages. In Oklahoma, officials said a white substance contained within a threatening envelope turned out to be flour. 

No evacuations have taken place in Alaska. 

“Our democracy is founded on the principle that every voice matters and every vote counts. Acts of intimidation, harassment, or violence undermine these core values and erode the trust in our electoral process,” Dahlstrom said in a statement. “We are committed to protecting our election workers and ensuring a safe and secure environment for them to carry out their duties. I urge everyone to respect the election process and those who make it possible. Threatening behavior, in any form, will be addressed swiftly and with the full force of the law.”