Suspicious Package Found in Florida Election Building

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A suspicious package that appeared to vibrate forced the temporary closure of Florida’s election headquarters Monday, but it turned out to be a harmless bundle of documents shaken by air flowing from the ventilation system.

A security guard found the package in the Division of Elections building about 6:30 a.m., and employees were kept out while the building was searched.

They were allowed back into the building just before noon.

The evacuation will not affect today’s election, said Alia Faraj, a spokeswoman for the Department of State, which oversees the elections agency in the state that was ground zero for the disputed 2000 presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore.