The Chester County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that the mail-in ballot envelope that caused a County Office to be locked down on Friday, Oct. 30, has been tested at the direction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Preliminary lab testing determined that there was no biohazard in the ballot, and final confirmation testing — which takes 7 to 10 days — is set to be completed next week.
As stated during the press conference on Oct. 30, an employee completing the routine intake process detected a non-liquid substance by feeling the outside of a mail-in ballot. Based on this, 911 was called, and the Chester County Hazardous Materials Response Team was able to render the building safe within 90 minutes of the 911 call.
The Chester County Detectives and the FBI conducted a joint investigation and determined that the mail-in ballot issued was deposited at a local drop-box. The voter who stuffed and dropped the ballot was an elderly man and has cooperated with investigators. This is now being treated as a non-criminal matter, and the ballot at issue has been invalidated. The voter has been referred to Chester County Voter Services so that they can recast their ballot in accordance with Pennsylvania law.
This investigation was conducted jointly by the Chester County Detectives and the FBI. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania was also consulted as part of the investigation. The Chester County Department of Emergency Services, the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, the Chester County Hazardous Materials Response Team, and the Chester County Voter Services Department all responded to the incident and helped reopen the County Offices quickly and safely.