Politics
Maryland elections office envelope intercepted amid federal probe of suspicious mail
A suspicious envelope addressed to the Maryland State Board of Elections was intercepted before it reached the agency, state Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis said. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating similar mailings sent to election offices and lawmakers around the country.
BALTIMORE — A suspicious envelope targeting the Maryland State Board of Elections was intercepted before delivery, State Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis said Thursday, as federal authorities investigated similar mailings sent to election officials and lawmakers nationwide.
DeMarinis thanked law enforcement for stopping the envelope and said threats and harassment against election administrators must end. He said the agency would continue its work and urged Marylanders not to let intimidation deter them from voting.
The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating the nationwide mailings. In Louisiana and Oklahoma, letters containing powdery substances prompted evacuations at election offices. Postal workers intercepted similar letters in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Mexico before they reached secretaries of state offices.
Authorities have not publicly identified who sent the mailings or described the substance in the envelope directed to Maryland. The cases have raised security concerns for election offices as the country heads toward the midterm elections, when local and state administrators oversee voting and ballot counting.