Voting Centers Reopened After Fake Bomb Threats in Georgia
ATLANTA - Voting centers in Fulton County, Georgia, reopened Tuesday after brief evacuations due to fake bomb threats. Officials pointed to Russian agents as the source of these hoaxes that disrupted voting on Election Day.
The quickly determined baseless threats led authorities to shut down two centers for approximately 30 minutes. Efforts are underway to obtain a court order to extend the 7:00 PM voting deadline across the state to compensate for delays voters faced.
Georgia Secretary of State Republican Brad Raffensperger connected the bomb threats to Russian interference, stating, "They seem to be malicious actors. They don't want us to have a smooth, fair, and accurate election, and if they can succeed in sowing discord among us, they can count that as a victory." The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comments on these claims.
The FBI reported that it is aware of several false bomb threats directed at voting centers in various states, most originating from Russian email domains. On Tuesday, over twenty-five such threats were reported in Georgia, primarily in Fulton County. A senior official from Raffensperger's office, who requested to remain anonymous, stated that the hoaxes were sent from email addresses previously used by Russians in attempts to interfere in U.S. elections.
The false threats were sent to U.S. media outlets and the two affected voting centers. The official remarked, "There's a high likelihood it's Russia." This incident adds to the growing list of alleged Russian attempts to influence the 2024 elections.
Earlier, on November 1, U.S. intelligence officials warned the public about a fake video suggesting that Haitians were illegally voting in Georgia. Another fake video claimed that a person associated with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign received a bribe from a celebrity. Russian interference has been a concern in past U.S. elections, particularly during the 2016 presidential race.