FBI, US Postal Service investigate suspicious mailings to election officials, lawmakers
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FBI → investigate → lawmakers
The FBI and US Postal Service’s law enforcement arm said on Oct 15 they were investigating suspicious mailings, including some sent to state election officials and lawmakers’ offices ahead of the Nov 3 midterm elections.
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they → say → elections
The FBI said some of the letters contained an unknown substance.
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some → say → substance
The investigation come less than three weeks before the midterms, which will determine control of the US Congress, as the Postal Service prepares to handle millions of mailed ballots.
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Service → come → ballots
Spokespeople for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, and Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, all said the US Postal Service intercepted letters containing a suspicious substance mailed to their offices.
“This incident is a stark reminder of the very real dangers facing those who serve the public and who help administer our elections,” Padilla said in a statement.
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Padilla → say → statement
The US House of Representatives sergeant at arms, the House’s chief law enforcement officer, told staff in an e-mail seen by Reuters that some public officials had received letters containing suspicious white powder substances.
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officials → tell → substances
Brendan Donahue, a deputy chief inspector with the US Postal Inspection Service, said some suspicious letters had been intercepted and that an investigation was ongoing.
“We are committed to protecting our nation’s election officials from threatening and dangerous mail.
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We → say → mail
Any threat or attack on an election official is unacceptable,” Donahue told reporters.
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Donahue → tell → reporters
The National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors said late on Oct 14 that a series of suspicious letters was sent to state election offices.
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series → say → offices
Letters bound for several state election offices were intercepted before they were delivered, including in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Idaho.
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they → bind → Pennsylvania
The Wisconsin Elections Commission said on Oct 15 it received a suspicious letter with an unidentified powdery substance that was deemed not hazardous.
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that → say → substance
“Let this be very clear: this incident will not shake us,” said Meagan Wolfe, the state’s chief election official.
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Wolfe → let → us
An email to Senate staff said suspicious letters could have postmarks that do not match the return address and included an image of an envelope with a return address labelled “DSA” and a New York City address.
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that → say → address
Postal service plans new measures
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service → plan → measures
Earlier on Oct 15, US Postmaster General David Steiner said USPS was “absolutely ready” to handle millions of ballots for the midterm elections.
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USPS → say → elections
USPS said in October it would take “extraordinary measures” for the 2026 election, including extending hours at some retail locations and expediting handling, extra deliveries and special pickups of ballots.
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it → say → ballots
On Sept 14, the US Supreme Court declined to let USPS enforce a rule targeting mail-in ballots, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump’s effort to restrict voting by mail.
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USPS → decline → mail
USPS said it would not enforce the rule under the order.
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it → say → order
The agency adopted the measure after Trump issued a March executive order aimed at tightening rules governing mail voting.
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Trump → adopt → voting
In 2024, USPS delivered 99.2 million ballots to and from voters in the presidential election.
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USPS → deliver → election
About 30% of votes were cast by mail in the November 2024 presidential election, down from 46% in 2020.
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% → cast → 2020
Trump’s fellow Republicans are locked in a tight battle to retain control of Congress in the midterms.
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Republicans → lock → midterms
Democratic voters disproportionately use mail-in ballots, according to various surveys, so restricting them could benefit Republicans.
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restricting → use → Republicans
Under the rule that was blocked, states would have had to provide lists of mail-ballot recipients to USPS and use agency-approved outbound and return ballot mail envelopes outfitted with unique barcodes.
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states → block → barcodes
The Postal Service could then have refused to send out ballots that did not comply or were associated with voters not appearing on the lists.
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that → refuse → lists
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