After a package leaking powder was received at the state Board of Elections Tuesday, some county clerks are stepping up safety procedures. Fayette County Clerk Susan Lamb said the first thing her staff did was relocate where they open their mail so it’s in a more secure room that can be cordoned off, if necessary.
“We are making sure that every single employee in the office has gloves and a mask, because you know, we have lots of different areas where most people are dealing with the mail at some point or another.”
Lamb said other precautions include having designated employees prepared to call 9-1-1, the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service – and administer Narcan, the opioid overdose-reversal drug.
“Each day, as we get closer to the election, we learn about different things that we just need to be cognizant of and pray that we never have to react, or to deal with.”
Lamb said her office hasn’t received suspicious packages in her 19 months as county clerk. According to published reports, election-related offices in at least five other states have received packages similar to that sent to the Kentucky Board of Elections.
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