Last November, just one day after a special election in Lane County, Oregon, an election worker opened an envelope addressed to the county clerk’s office. It contained a letter that read “stop elections now” and was accompanied by a suspicious-looking white powdery substance, Lane County Clerk Dena Dawson told TPM. The powder, which Dawson was not able to confirm pending an ongoing investigation, was feared to be fentanyl.

In response to the incident and ahead of November 2024, election officials in Lane County have now instituted two new policies that are standard for all election staff in the county: in–person training on administering Narcan in case of accidental fentanyl exposure and an updated mail-opening policy.