The dangers associated with fentanyl are as seemingly limitless as the tons of the drug pouring over our wide-open southern border. Now, Arizona officials are being warned about the potential presence of the drug on election materials.
Federal agencies have given the heads-up to election offices nationwide after unidentified bad actors disrupted election proceedings last month by mailing fentanyl-laced letters to election offices in multiple states.
In response, local officials are getting up-to-speed on the use of Narcan and ordering supplies of the drug which can reverse an opioid overdose.
According to a joint notice from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), letters were sent to election offices in five states: California, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. At least four of the letters tested contained fentanyl, and one contained baking soda.
The agencies reported that the letters delayed election results. They disclosed that four Washington state counties evacuated their ballot counting locations due to the letters. DHS and USPIS reported that the senders and their motives remain unknown.
However, the agencies noted that domestic violent extremists (DVEs), or domestic terrorists, have championed this tactic of laced letters previously as a means of disrupting election proceedings. The agencies cited the publication of “The Hard Reset: A Terrorgram Publication” last July by an online collective of DVEs as the basis for their suspicions.
DVEs qualify as those who seek to further their political or social goals through illegal acts of force or violence.
Based on this context, DHS and USPIS warned that last month’s targeting may be a “proof-of-concept” for 2024 attacks to disrupt election processes.
According to the agencies, fentanyl was used because of its low cost and accessibility compared to prior similar terror attacks using mailed poisons such as anthrax. The estimated price of one fentanyl pill ranges from $1 to $20, or $150 per gram.
Two milligrams is generally considered a lethal dose; the Drug Enforcement Administration has found fentanyl pills containing up to over five milligrams of fentanyl.
The agencies also disclosed another incident in which another Washington state election office received a fentanyl letter in August during the primary election.
Mail-in voting took over as the prevalent form of casting ballots during the 2020 presidential election, a side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. 43 percent of individuals voted by mail, as opposed to 30 percent of individuals who voted in person on Election Day and 30 percent who voted early in person.
During last year’s midterms, mail-in voting scaled back in popularity: 32 percent of voters voted by mail, while nearly 50 percent voted on Election Day in person and 22 percent voted early in person.