Russia blamed for bomb threats at polling sites across 5 swing states
WASHINGTON – Bomb threats wreaked havoc at dozens of polling sites across at least five pivotal swing states on Tuesday.
Voting precincts in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona were targeted with emailed threats, which the FBI said likely originated in Russia.
None of the threats and the have been deemed credible, but did delay at least some voters from casting ballots. The threats appear to mostly have targeted Democratic-leaning areas.
More than 30 precincts in Georgia, consolidated in the Atlanta metro area, received threats on Tuesday. The precincts were in Dekalb, Fulton and Gwinnett Counties – all of which have voted Democratic in the last few presidential elections. Dekalb and Fulton Counties have been Democratic strongholds for decades, and Gwinnett has trended blue since the 2016 presidential election.
Threats in Michigan were targeted at polling sites in four counties that President Joe Biden won in the 2020 presidential election, including Washtenaw County, Wayne County, Genesee County and Saginaw County.
In Wisconsin, precincts in the state capital of Madison, Dane County, were targeted. Biden won that area by more than 50 points in 2020, 75.7% to 22.9%.
In Pennsylvania, where both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have hung much of their White House hopes, key counties including Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia were also impacted by threats. Biden won all three areas in 2020 and Harris views them as critical this year.
At least one Republican-leaning area also saw bomb threats on Tuesday. Four locations in Navajo County, Ariz. received false bomb threats. Trump won the county in the northeastern part of the state by roughly 8 points in the last presidential election.
Did the threats delay voting?
The threats halted voting at many of the impacted precincts and, in some cases, led to extended voting hours.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told reporters that there were multiple threats, but only one polling location was closed.
“All the locations were cleared...only one was briefly closed that was for about 23 minutes,” he said. “Let me say it again, phony bomb threats. No bombs, no one hurt. No boom, none of that happened.”
Two polling locations in Chester County, Pa., were kept open until 10 p.m. Tuesday after a bomb threat was called into the Chester County Government Services on election night, officials confirmed. The building houses the county’s voter services center but is not where ballots are counted on election night.
Officials in nearby Montgomery County, Pa. said they’ve received no bomb threats, but law enforcement are on standby in case. York County, Pa., also received a threat, but local officials said that location was not shut down and voting continued uninterrupted.
In Georgia, at least 10 of the affected precincts stayed open later as well, each for about 20-40 minutes, according to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Ann Jacobs, head of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said bomb threats at two Madison area polling sites did not disrupt voting.
Voting rights groups in Georgia have so far not raised alarm that the threats significantly impacted voter turnout. But some Democratic leaders have
Concerns of Russian interference
The FBI said the threats appeared to originate from Russian email domains. Describing election integrity as among it's "highest priorities," the bureau said in a statement that it was working closely with state and local law enforcement to respond to the threats and protect Americans rights to exercise their vote.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, also blamed Russian for the bomb hoaxes.
“They're up to mischief, it seems. They don't want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election, and if they can get us to fight among ourselves, they can count that as a victory," Raffensperger said.
State and local officials across the affected areas are working with the federal government to investigate the bomb hoaxes.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, responded to Russia’s apparent role in the threats, saying "Vladimir Putin is being a prick.”
Contributing: Aysha Bagchi and Bart Jansen, Paste BN; Reuters