BATON ROUGE — The elections division of the Louisiana Secretary of State’s building off Essen Lane was evacuated Tuesday morning after a package containing an unknown white powdery substance was delivered to the office, officials said.

According to a spokesperson for the Secretary of State's office, the package was received around 12:20 p.m. The building was evacuated and the facility's air conditioning system was turned off to prevent any potential airborne spread.

Louisiana State Police Emergency Service hazmat units responded to the scene to secure the package. Sgt. Jacob Pucheu of Region 1 Public Affairs confirmed that the substance was safely recovered and handed over to federal authorities for testing.

“This afternoon, LSP Emergency Service units, our hazmat units, responded to the Secretary of State’s office after a white powdery substance was found in an envelope,” Pucheu said. “There is no threat at this time to the public. No employees have said anything about any adverse health conditions and there were no injuries.”

The substance was turned over to the FBI, which has submitted it for official testing. Louisiana State Police and the FBI are currently conducting a joint investigation into the incident.

Authorities have not released details regarding the origin of the package or what the powder might be.

When asked about when test results will be available, Pucheu stated, “Hopefully tomorrow we’ll have something for you,” regarding processing timelines.

Officials do not believe this incident poses a threat to early voting, beginning on Oct. 20, but Pucheau adds, "We've got our fusion center that is always monitoring and collaborating with all our partners federally and locally to make sure everybody is safe." 

The Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Exchange (LA-SAFE) is a collaborative agency that evaluates, analyzes and shares intelligence regarding possible criminal or terrorist activity across law enforcement.