County Elections Office Treats Every Envelope As Hazmat After Statewide Mail Threats
New screening protocol photographs and logs each piece of mail before anyone opens it, mail room coordinator says.
WAUKESHA — The Waukesha County elections office has started treating every piece of incoming mail, including campaign flyers, as a potential hazard, after suspicious packages were sent to election officials and Marquette University in recent weeks.
The new protocol requires staff to photograph, log, and visually inspect each envelope and package before it is opened, according to mail room coordinator Denise Furlan, 47, who has worked in the clerk's office for eleven years and said she has never filled out this many intake forms in her life.
Furlan said the office processed 212 pieces of mail on Monday, a typical volume for this point in the election cycle, and that the new screening added roughly four minutes per item. She has assigned one part-time staffer, Craig Oberlin, 29, solely to photographing envelopes against a gridded mat she bought at a craft store for $6.49, so investigators have a consistent size reference if anything needs to be escalated.
Every Package Gets A Name
Furlan has started referring to the process as "CSI: Mail Edition" around the office, a nickname that has stuck despite her supervisor's mild objections. Packages that look unusual, she said, get set aside in a labeled bin near the back door rather than opened at a desk.
"One person joked that campaign literature shouldn't require a hazmat checklist, but that's where we are in October 2026. We photograph it, we log it, and if it still looks wrong, it goes in the bin by the door and we call somebody."
— Denise Furlan, mail room coordinator
The bin, a gray plastic tote previously used to store extension cords, has held four items since the protocol began on October 13, Furlan said. All four turned out to be oversized absentee ballot return envelopes from out-of-state college students, which triggered the screening because of their weight.
Staff Adjusting To New Routine
Oberlin said the photography step has become the most tedious part of his week, though he has started numbering his photo files by hand to keep pace, currently at intake number 341. He said he has developed a system of holding each envelope at the same angle under the same ceiling light, a habit he picked up after his supervisor asked him to redo a batch of blurry photos last Thursday.
"I never thought I'd spend part of my job photographing envelopes like they're evidence, but here we are. I've gotten pretty fast at it. Forty seconds, start to finish, if the lighting cooperates."
— Craig Oberlin, elections office intake staffer
Furlan said the office has also posted a laminated sign near the mail slot reminding staff not to shake or squeeze any package regardless of how it is addressed, a rule she said has already prevented one well-meaning volunteer from trying to determine the contents of a padded envelope by hand.
No Threats Confirmed Locally
Furlan emphasized that no suspicious mail has actually been confirmed at the Waukesha County office itself, and that the new protocol is a precaution following FOX6's report that suspicious mail was sent to state election officials, lawmakers, and Marquette University. She said she expects the screening routine to remain in place at least through the November election and likely longer.
The office has also started requiring staff to sign a brief log sheet each time they enter the mail room, a step Furlan added on her own after noticing the sign-in sheet for the supply closet next door was being used more often than the mail room one. She said she plans to review the protocol again after the election to decide which parts, if any, become permanent.