Pinal sheriff and recorder say threats to election workers will be investigated after Capitol powder scare

Pinal County's sheriff and its recorder are both warning, weeks before the general election, that threats or intimidation aimed at the people who run the county's elections will not be tolerated.

The statements from Sheriff Ross Teeple and Recorder Dana Lewis followed an Oct. 15 incident at the Arizona State Capitol, the Queen Creek Independent reported Monday. A clerk in Secretary of State Adrian Fontes' office opened an envelope that held white powder, and the Capitol's executive tower was evacuated.

Fontes said the next day that the powder was nontoxic and called the mailing a failed attempt to disrupt the election.

No local incidents reported

The sheriff's office said the warning was not prompted by anything in Pinal County. "This is simply in response to threats we have seen elsewhere, in solidarity with the Pinal County Recorder Dana Lewis. I am not aware of any incidents in Pinal County," spokesperson Sam Salzwedel said in an email to the newspaper.

Even so, Lewis said in a video on the recorder's Facebook page that the sheriff's K-9 unit had run a sweep of county election offices at her request.

"Threats and intimidation have no place in our elections," Lewis said in her statement, adding that the safety of the office's employees "is paramount."

Teeple said every threat would be taken seriously. His office, he said, will work with election officials to assess risks, respond to reports and act when criminal conduct is suspected.

What residents are asked to do

The county asked anyone who sees a threat or suspicious activity to report it to law enforcement rather than look into it or confront anyone themselves.

At the state level, the secretary of state's chief information security officer, Michael Moore, said threats are a constant for his office and have been for at least six or seven years. "To some folks it may seem like yesterday was a special thing, to us it was a Thursday," he said.

Sources

yourvalley.net