Fentanyl-laced letters sent to politicians sparking them to stock up on Narcan

Following reports that US politicians were receiving fentanyl-laced letters, the mailings are prompting elections officials already frustrated with ongoing harassment and threats to reach out to local police, fire and health departments for help stocking up on the overdose reversal medication naloxone.

Even if there’s little risk from incidental contact with the synthetic opioid, having the antidote on hand isn’t a bad idea amid an addiction epidemic that is killing more than 100,000 people in the U.S. every year — and it can provide some assurance for stressed ballot workers, election managers say.

“My team is usually in the direct fire just because we’re opening up thousands of millions of ballots, depending on the election,” said Eldon Miller, who leads the ballot-opening staff at King County Elections in Seattle, which stocked up on naloxone after receiving a fentanyl-laced letter in August. “I always say to my team, ‘Your safety is my utmost importance.’”

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The letters were sent this month to vote centers or government buildings in six states: Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and Kansas.

Some were intercepted before they arrived, but others were delivered, prompting evacuations and briefly delaying vote counts in local elections. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating.

Some of the letters featured an antifascist symbol, a progress pride flag and a pentagram. While the symbols have sometimes been associated with leftist politics, they also have been used by conservative figures to label and stereotype the left.

The sender’s political leanings were unclear.

Fentanyl, an opioid that can be 50 times as powerful as the same amount of heroin, is driving an overdose crisis as it is pressed into pills or mixed into other drugs.

Briefly touching it cannot cause an overdose, and researchers have found the risk of fatal overdose from accidental exposure is low, unlike with powdered anthrax that can float in the air and cause deadly infections when inhaled.

Election workers across the country have been besieged by threats, harassment and intimidation since former President Donald Trump and his supporters began spreading false election claims after he lost the 2020 election.

“I hope we encourage people to not hurt election officials,” said Anne Dover, the elections director in suburban Atlanta’s Cherokee County, which did not receive a suspicious letter. “A lot of people are leaving the field. It’s not just threats of physical harm. There’s a lot of emotional and psychological abuse.”