Increased security “is now part of conducting an election”

Some election officials across the country have received threats ahead of the November election. Election boards and secretaries of state in at least 15 states, including Ohio, have received suspicious packages.

“This is something election officials are planning to do,” said Alex Linser, Hamilton County deputy director. “It’s something that’s now part of conducting an election.”

The Ohio Secretary of State’s office received a package containing an unidentified powder that was later determined to be non-hazardous. Gov. Mike DeWine has approved additional security measures for Secretary Frank LaRose in response to specific threats against him.

Linser says his office has not received any credible threats.

RELATED: FBI investigating suspicious packages sent to election officials in at least 15 states

“We worked with local law enforcement to conduct a security audit of our building and we spent over $100,000 on security improvements to the physical facility,” Linser says.

He added that they also paid attention to poll workers. “We have provided refresher training on all processes, including our emergency procedures, to ensure everyone is at their best before the big election.”

Linser says they are being proactive by being transparent. The board offers tours of its facilities and explanations of procedures.

“You can register on our website, but it fills up very quickly,” he says. “They are very popular, which is great. We have to stop them at a certain point because once we start voting, we no longer have the ability to walk people through the building for security reasons.”

Two more tours are planned for this Tuesday and Wednesday.

The last day to register to vote in Ohio is October 7th. Early voting begins the next day and runs through November 3rd.