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Courthouse drama is nothing new in Skagit County.

But what is new is the tact taken to disrupt the counting of 2023 general election ballots at the county auditor’s office in Mount Vernon last Wednesday, Nov. 8.

Ballot counting stopped for a period upon receipt in the mail of a white powdery substance by county elections workers. It was later confirmed to contain trace amounts of fentanyl, a controlled substance that can cause respiratory distress and death.

The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office was alerted just before noon and immediately blocked access to the courthouse and stationed deputies at its entrances.

Elections workers were counting mail-in ballots for offices throughout Skagit County, including the La Conner School board race between John Agen and Janie Beasley and the bid by La Conner Chamber of Commerce Director Mark Hulst to retain his seat on the Mount Vernon City Council.

“A Skagit County elections worker opened a mailed envelope and found a suspicious white substance inside,” Skagit County Communications Manager Jenn Rogers told the media Wednesday afternoon. “Staff immediately contained the envelope, called 911 and evacuated the auditor’s office, which includes the elections staff.”

Rogers said a HAZMAT (Hazardous Materials) team was requested to remove the envelope and test the powder.

No injuries were reported and staff was later able to resume their duties.

Similar disruptions were reported in more urban Snohomish, King, Pierce and Spokane counties, leading Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to term the incidents examples of domestic terrorism.

“They’re not successful,” Hobbs said of those responsible, “but what they are doing is causing our elections workers to have fear and that’s something we don’t want because they didn’t sign up for this.”

Hobbs’ concerns were shared by voters, who voiced their anxiety on social media. Many were fearful that the 2024 presidential election might be similarly targeted.

“Some won’t stop at anything to try and change an election outcome,” cautioned one poster. “Our rights to vote are being tested.”

Hobbs said he has for the past three years proposed legislation making threats upon elections workers a felony. That bill passed the state House of Representatives but did not receive a hearing in the Senate.

Hobbs hopes to see the legislation re-considered next year.

“The safety of staff and observers is paramount as elections workers across the state open envelopes and count each voter’s ballot,” he stressed. “These incidents underscore the critical need for stronger protections for all elections workers. Democracy rests upon free and fair elections. These incidents are acts of terrorism to threaten our elections.”

The story last week soon became national when elections workers in Oregon, California, Nevada and Georgia reported separate threats by mail. That brought in agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service to probe what has been described as “eerie” incidents.

Because those acts are the subject of ongoing investigations, Hobbs said his office could provide no further information at present.

The FBI, though, has confirmed it is conducting its own lab tests and federal investigators believe the suspect letters received by Skagit County and other elections workers were sent from a location in the Pacific Northwest.

Lab work indicated the envelope received by the Pierce County elections office in Tacoma merely contained baking soda.

Tacoma Police spokesperson William Muse said a message inside the envelope received by Pierce County election workers included a vague statement that “said something to the effect of stopping the election.”