The staffer with the Yuba County elections office, outside of Sacramento, opened an envelope which did not appear to be suspicious, was addressed from a verified sender, and contained a powder substance. The worker did not touch the substance, which the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department determined to be fentanyl after conducting a field test, according to a statement from the California Secretary of State. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is about 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). “I am relieved that nobody was harmed,”said California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. “The response of the Yuba County Registrar’s team and Sheriff’s office minimized potential harm and ensured my office could provide immediate guidance to the state’s 57 other counties.” Yuba County election workers had recently undergone training on how to identify suspicious packages and how to handle potentially dangerous substances. The office had also been stocked with Narcan, a product that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose within minutes. Weber’s office has since distributed an advisory to county election officials updating guidance on safety protocols and how to coordinate with local, state, and federal authorities. “California’s dedicated election professionals, workers and volunteers – our friends, neighbors, and family members – are the unsung heroes of our democracy,” Weber said. “Year after year, and election after election, they protect our cherished democratic principles and our hard-won right to votes,” she added. “I trust that law enforcement authorities will identify and bring to justice any persons responsible for seeking to intimidate, threaten, or harm election workers.” This latest attack is among a string of fentanyl-laced letters that have been sent around the U.S. In November, FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service officials investigated suspicious letters — four of which contained fentanyl — sent to elections offices in Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington. "This is domestic terrorism, and it needs to be condemned by anyone that holds elected office and anyone that wants to hold elective office anywhere in America," Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said at the time.A California election worker was exposed to fentanyl this week in an attack that could have had lethal consequences.
