Officials secured a tainted box of mail-in ballots after federal agents determined the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine
Digital Assignment Editor
A selection of Sandoval County election mail was tainted with illicit substances, the county reported Friday morning.
The affected ballots were discovered at the Sandoval County Bureau of Election Warehouse, according to Sandoval County Clerk Anne Brandy-Romero.
Initial tests indicated the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine. No county employees or poll workers were exposed, the statement said.
“We’re not going to play with the safety of our employees who are handling the ballots,” Sandoval County Manager Wayne Johnson told KOAT. “We have every ballot box checked by canine prior to having it handled and opened by any of our employees.”
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Homeland Security Investigations determined the presence of the drugs through a swab test. The box was then sealed by an Albuquerque Fire Rescue hazmat unit and secured in the warehouse, Johnson said.
While multiple ballots were affected, Johnson didn’t have an exact number. The box contains 200 ballots, he said, and voters may have to resubmit either in-person or through another mail-in ballot if their vote’s been spoiled.
The county was working with state and federal authorities to assess the extent of the contamination, according to the county statement, and more details were expected over the weekend.
The news out of Sandoval County came as letters containing powdery substances led to evacuations at election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma, just weeks ahead of midterm elections. In Ohio, Pennsylvania, as well as here New Mexico, the Postal Service intercepted similar letters before they reached the secretary of state’s office.
