PRESS RELEASE: As Suspicious Mail is Sent to Election and Government Offices Nationwide, CSSE Co-Chairs Issue Statement

Election Officials and Law Enforcement Are Following Established Security Protocols to Protect Workers, Voters, and Election Operations

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Committee for Safe and Secure Elections (CSSE) is responding to dozens of reports of suspicious mail containing potentially hazardous materials sent to election offices and other public officials across the country.

“Threats and intimidation have no place in our elections. Election officials, law enforcement, and government offices across the country have spent months, and in many cases years, preparing for the very kinds of security challenges we are seeing today,” said CSSE Co-Chair and former Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore. “Professionals responsible for administering and protecting our elections have established plans, practiced their responses, and are working together to keep election workers and voters safe.”

Local and state election officials are following established protocols for handling suspicious mail in coordination with state and federal law enforcement partners. Election officials are taking appropriate security precautions to protect personnel, communicate within relevant intergovernmental agencies, and continue the safe administration of the ongoing election process. 

The FBI, U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and U.S. Postal Inspection Service have also issued guidance to help election offices identify and safely respond to suspicious mail. It is important at this moment for election and government offices to stay vigilant as they look to serve their communities. 

“As a former election official I know first hand how these incidents may impact the sense of safety for an individual, election worker, or community,” said CSSE Co-Chair and former Michigan election official Tina Barton. “It’s precisely why the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections was started – to ensure that election officials and workers are safe, protected, and supported by law enforcement. Americans can have confidence in the people working to protect and administer our elections.”

The bottomline is clear: Election officials and law enforcement are prepared. CSSE has conducted hundreds of election security trainings and briefings with local and state election officials and law enforcement leaders in more than 40 states, and distributed over 100,000 printed law enforcement reference guides.  

CSSE is confident that election officials and workers around the country remain determined to deliver safe and secure elections this November. 

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About the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections

The Committee for Safe and Secure Elections features cross-partisan experts in election administration and law enforcement who aim to support policies and practices that protect election workers and voters from violence, threats and intimidation. The Committee works to build relationships and trust between election officials and law enforcement to better equip both to prevent and respond to threats and violence against voters and election workers. For more information about The Committee’s resources and policy principles, please visit safeelections.org.