Federal Agencies Track Mail Sent to Election Offices

Federal authorities are working to intercept dozens of letters containing suspicious substances sent to congressional offices and state election officials, with Election Day less than three weeks away. Preliminary tests found the white powder wasn’t hazardous, three law enforcement sources told NBC News, but laboratories will keep testing it. Workers in and around the targeted offices face warnings, screening procedures and uncertainty while investigators search for the sender.

Who Controls the Response

The FBI, U.S. Capitol Police and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating, according to a notice sent Thursday to senior staff in Senate offices. The notice said, “Law enforcement officials are working to intercept any additional letters before they are delivered, however, it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations.” Two law enforcement sources confirmed that “dozens of letters” had been sent, but wouldn’t give an exact number received or seized as authorities continue intercepting them.

Election offices in at least 15 states said suspicious packages had been mailed to them: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin. The FBI said the mailings went to “various addresses nationwide, including Secretary of State offices and their related election offices,” but didn’t specify which offices the senders targeted. The agency said, “Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident. We are also working with our partners to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the letters.”

Several Democratic senators’ offices were targets, including the offices of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy. A letter addressed to Schumer was intercepted, his spokesperson said. A Padilla spokesperson said the FBI notified the office that the U.S. Postal Service had intercepted a letter containing a suspicious substance. Murphy’s spokesperson, Josh Sorbe, said the FBI, Capitol Police and the sergeant at arms informed the Hartford, Connecticut, office about a letter. Murphy and his staff “were not in immediate danger,” Sorbe said.

Warnings for Workers, Not Answers

The Senate notice included an image of a suspicious envelope and said the letters “may contain different variations of postage stamps.” It told staff to treat suspicious letters, packages or substances “as potentially hazardous” and follow established safety protocols. Staff screen and test mail and packages delivered to Senate offices or the Capitol complex for potential threats.

The House sergeant at arms sent lawmakers and staff a similar notice Thursday. Capitol mail and packages undergo rigorous screening, the notice said, while district offices should follow safe mail-handling procedures, including “mail hoods” provided by the sergeant at arms. According to two congressional offices that shared the message with NBC News, the equipment lets staff handle mail without exposure to danger. The notice said no House members had been identified as intended recipients.

The Senate notice didn’t say whether the targeted congressional offices were in Washington, D.C., or local and regional offices. Congress is on recess before the midterm elections, and most lawmakers have returned to their districts to campaign in the final weeks before Election Day. Congressional staff members remain on the Capitol campus.

An Election Season Under Security Protocol

NBC News reported Wednesday that state election offices in Louisiana, Ohio and Oklahoma had received packages containing mysterious powders that week. Oklahoma and Louisiana reported receiving envelopes; Ohio said U.S. Postal Service investigators intercepted a package destined for it. A correction dated Oct. 15, 2026, at 5:23 p.m. ET clarified that Oklahoma’s recipient was the state Election Board, not the secretary of state’s office, and that the Election Board carries out election oversight in Oklahoma.

Former FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Pack told NBC News that even if the letters prove harmless or turn out to be a hoax, someone may have committed a crime, and the investigation will continue. “There’s several different statutes that may come into play here, whether that’s mailing a threat or mailing something believed to be a hazardous substance,” he said. “And that could be five to 20 years behind bars.”

Pack said the Postal Inspection Service and FBI can trace mail to its origin. “They’ll be able to go back and do investigations based on where these pieces of mail originated and then work backwards,” he said. “In pretty short order, I would think [they would] find out at least a bit more information about who sent it.” He said the motive wasn’t clear, though “the timing is somewhat suspicious with the election ahead of us.”

Election Day is Nov. 3, and early voting is already underway in numerous states. Threats against election workers have increased in recent years, the article noted, including suspicious substances mailed to their offices in 2023 and weeks before the 2024 presidential election. The notices describe screening and handling procedures. Investigators haven’t identified the sender or explained the motive.