SALT LAKE CITY — The election balloting processing area at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City was evacuated Tuesday after a white substance was discovered inside an envelope.
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Authorities were notified about the substance found by a poll worker in the north building at approximately 1:40 p.m., and all personnel and visitors were evacuated.
The Salt Lake City Fire Department's Hazmat team was called in to investigate, and after initial testing, the substance was not found to be hazardous.
"...right now, there is no hazard to the individual who opened the envelope and no hazards to anyone down there in the envelope ballot area," said Capt Hancuff Brandt with the fire department. "So at this time, operations have resumed as normal so that ballots can be counted."
A spokesperson with the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office said there is no need to worry about vote processing due to the delay, and that the incident will have no impact on the election integrity of the voting process.
In a social media post, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson commended the clerk's office and employees for acting swiftly and said the incident would be investigated.
"Anyone attempting to intimidate election workers or disrupt election administration in any way can expect to face criminal charges," Henderson wrote.
