Spokane County election workers were evacuated Wednesday morning after a suspicious substance and a note was discovered in an envelope.

Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton said the ballot counting was immediately halted and will not resume today. Elections offices in a few counties around the state have also been evacuated after discovering a suspicious substance, Dalton noted, though she did not immediately have further information.

An employee discovered the substance around 10:15 a.m, Dalton said. The person informed her manager who halted ballot counting and evacuated the office. Spokane police and fire personnel arrived on scene and seized the envelope.

After initial evaluation, emergency personnel cleared elections workers to return to the office, Dalton said. However, most staff have already been sent home, and the elections office will remain closed to the public today. No additional ballots will be tallied today, and the next release of vote tallies won’t happen until 5 p.m. Thursday.

Dalton said it was the first time in her time with the Spokane County Elections Office that the vote count had been interrupted by an evacuation. She expressed disappointment with the situation but said that their work would continue tomorrow.

“Our role here is to make sure democracy happens,” Dalton said.