Bomb threats in swing states disrupt a mostly smooth Election Day

Election 2024 America Votes Pennsylvania Ingrid Bender, a supporter of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, and Jonathan Foust, a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, offer rosters of who to vote for in their political parties to voters arriving at a polling place in Cranberry, Pa., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Election 2024 America Votes Houston Rain pours down while voters are waiting in line to cast their vote on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 at West Gray Multiservice Center in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Election 2024 America Votes Iowa Voters fill out their ballots Hilton Township Hall in Conroy, Iowa on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette via AP)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes New York Voters cast their ballots at the Bronx County Supreme Court in New York on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes New York Volunteers check the ballots at the Bronx County Supreme Court in New York on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes Arizona Voters stand in line outside a polling place at Madison Church, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Phoenix, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes Colorado
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes California Voters work on their ballots at a polling place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes New York Vesta Avery, 2, helps her mother Alexis Taylor mark her ballot at P.S. M811, The Mickey Mantle School, in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Election 2024 America Votes Kansas Voters arrive at the 146-year-old Buck Creek School to vote on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in rural Perry, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Election 2024 America Votes North Carolina
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes Chicago Chicago school teacher Tabitha Berry, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, fills out a ballot for the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Election 2024 America Votes New Hampshire Max Florio, 5, of Chesterfield, N.H., stands just outside the voting booth while his mother, Rufina Tukmametova, fills out her ballot at the polling station in the elementary school on Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
Election 2024 America Votes Nevada People stand in line to vote at the Reno Town Mall, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Reno, Nev. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez)
Election 2024 America Votes Georgia People cast their ballots, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Election 2024 America Votes Florida Faith Denison, 38, left, holds her son, Lincoln Denison, 3, moments after casting her vote at the Centre of Palm Harbor, Fla., for the 2024 General Election on Tuesday, Nov 5, 2024. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Election 2024 America Votes Pennsylvania Election workers process mail-in ballots for the 2024 General Election at the Philadelphia Election Warehouse, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes Georgia A poll worker sets up before a polling place opens, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Atlanta.(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes Seattle Voters wait in line and fill out their ballots at a voting center at Lumen Field Event Center on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Election 2024 America Votes Arizona Voters wait in line to cast their ballots outside a polling station on the Navajo Nation in Fort Defiance, Ariz., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Election 2024 America Votes Arizona Pauline Larry, second from left, discuss community issues with fellow voters outside a polling station on the Navajo Nation in Ganado, Ariz., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Election 2024 America Votes Pennsylvania American flags line Main Street on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Election 2024 America Votes New York People wait in line to cast their ballots at the Oberia D. Dempsey Multi-Service Center on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Election 2024 America Votes New Hampshire Voters stand in line to enter a polling place on the campus of Pinkerton Academy, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Derry, N.H. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Election 2024 America Votes Missouri Levi Zoltowski, center, from St. Charles, waits in line to vote in the presidential election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, at St. Charles Christian Church in the New Town area of St. Charles, Mo. (Zachary Linhares/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
Election 2024 America Votes Los Angeles Voters wait in a long line at a polling place at the Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Complex on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Election 2024 America Votes Georgia An election worker scans an envelope that holds a voting machine memory card at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
APTOPIX Election 2024 Harris Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris phone banks with volunteers at the DNC headquarters on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Election 2024 Trump El expresidente y candidato republicano Donald Trump hablando ante la prensa mientras la ex primera dama Melania Trump escucha tras votar en el día de las elecciones en el centro Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation, el martes 5 de noviembre de 2024, en Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Foto/Evan Vucci)
Election 2024 America Votes Wisconsin People line up in the rain waiting for polls to open to vote on Election Day, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Election 2024 Massachusetts Early Voting A person walks past a sign during early voting in the general election, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Fall River, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Election 2024 Pennsylvania An election worker demonstrates mail-in ballot processing during a media preview at the Philadelphia Election Warehouse, in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Election 2024 Massachusetts Early Voting A voter fills out their their ballot during early voting in the general election, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Fall River, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Election 2024 Early Voting Chicago People line up to vote at the Chicago Early Voting Loop Supersite in Chicago, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Election 2024-Pennsylvania Mail Ballots FILE - A Delaware County secured drop box for the return of vote-by-mail ballots is pictured, May 2, 2022, in Newtown Square, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Election 2024 Arizona Ballot Counting An elections official sorts counted mail-in ballots on the first day of tabulation, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at the Maricopa County Recorder's Office in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Election 2024 Missouri Early Voting People wait in line to cast their ballots at an early voting location, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Blue Springs, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes Ohio Voters line up to enter their polling place at the Cincinnati Observatory on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Election 2024 America Votes Michigan Election day worker Sean Vander Waal prepares to open a polling place,Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes Pennsylvania
Election 2024 America Votes Pennsylvania Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at Scranton High School in Scranton, Pa., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes Ohio
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes Georgia Stickers lay on a table inside a polling place, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
APTOPIX Election 2024 America Votes Arizona Voters stand in line outside a polling place at Madison Church, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Phoenix, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Election 2024 Early Vote Voters line up to vote as a early voting location opened in Carmel, Ind., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Election 2024 America Votes Alabama
Election 2024 America Votes Michigan Three-year-old Zayn, sits on his father's shoulders as he votes at the First Presbyterian Church of Dearborn, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Election 2024 America Votes Kansas Janice Prior votes at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation building Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Rossville, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Election 2024 America Votes Houston Rain pours down while voters are waiting in line to cast their vote on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 at West Gray Multiservice Center in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Election 2024 America Votes Arizona A poll worker monitors voting at a polling place at the Arizona State University campus, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Phoenix, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Election 2024 America Votes Alabama Voters line up to cast their ballots at Shelby County Services Building 280 on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Election 2024 America Votes Nevada Poll workers prepare for voters at the Allegiant Stadium polling place, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Election 2024 America Votes Michigan Voters depart a polling place at McDonald Elementary School, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Election 2024 America Votes Michigan Sabah Fakhoury, right, helps her 87-year-old mother, Rose, insert her ballot as they vote at the First Presbyterian Church of Dearborn, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Election 2024 America Votes Florida Voters wait in line to cast their ballots outside a polling place at Pasadena Community Church, at sunrise on Election Day, just before the opening of the polls, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Election 2024 America Votes Montana People wait in line to vote outside a polling place on Election Day at MetraPark, Nov. 5, 2024, in Billings, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
APTOPIX Election 2024 Trump Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks after voting on Election Day at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Election 2024 America Votes Montana People fill out ballots during Election Day, at MetraPark, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Billings, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A series of bomb threats across multiple battleground states and baseless claims of wrongdoing by former President Donald Trump disrupted an otherwise smooth Election Day that capped a tumultuous presidential campaign.

The bomb threats in parts of Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania on Tuesday turned out to be hoaxes, but they forced some polling places to evacuate and extend hours, and delayed the counting of some ballots.

The threats were reported throughout the day at polling locations in three metro Atlanta counties, all with large numbers of Democratic voters, and into the evening at Pennsylvania polling places and election offices where ballots were being counted. Bomb threats also were reported in Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to state election officials.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in an evening news conference that the hoaxes posed no danger to the public — or to the election.

“Every legal, eligible vote will be counted and counted accurately, and the will of the people in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be respected,” said Shapiro, a Democrat.

Neither Shapiro nor Pennsylvania State Police gave details about who might be behind the hoaxes.

In Georgia’s Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, 32 of 177 polling places received bomb threats and five were briefly evacuated. The polling locations were able to reopen after the threats.

“That just shows you the resilience of our system and our people. We’re battle-tested,” said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican.

The FBI said many hoax bomb threats in several states appeared to originate from Russian email domains, though federal cybersecurity officials cautioned that the culprits were not necessarily Russian.

The dramatic and troubling end to Election Day came after a highly successful early voting period, when at least half of all votes expected in the presidential election had been cast. By Tuesday, more than 84 million Americans had already voted.

Overall, the final day of voting was characterized by the same kind of routine hiccups and frustrations seen in other elections: a polling worker forgetting to bring a key; ballot printing mistakes; ballot counting machines not working.

The vast majority of problems were “largely expected, routine and planned-for events,” said Cait Conley, senior adviser to the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Turnout on Tuesday was robust in many states. In Nevada, one of two western presidential battlegrounds, long lines were reported in Reno and Las Vegas. After polls closed, there was still a three-hour wait at a polling location at the University of Nevada, Reno, according to local election officials.

Despite no evidence of widespread voting problems, Trump made unsubstantiated claims related to Philadelphia and Detroit, and raised questions about election operations in Milwaukee, the biggest cities in three states crucial for deciding the presidency.

Local officials quickly knocked down the claims Trump made on his social media platform, saying there were no indications of any problems that would affect accurately tallying the vote.

The absence of any significant problems had not stopped Trump, the Republican nominee, or the Republican National Committee, from making numerous claims of fraud or election interference during the early voting period, a possible prelude to challenges after Election Day.

In Georgia, a federal judge rejected as “frivolous” a last-minute effort by Republicans to challenge Atlanta-area election offices’ collection of mail ballots last weekend — after early voting had ended. U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker, a Trump appointee, said the GOP argument “does not withstand even the most basic level of statutory review and reading comprehension.”

Trump on Tuesday suggested he wouldn’t challenge the results of the election — as long as it’s fair.

“If it’s a fair election, I’d be the first one to acknowledge” the results, Trump said, though what meets that definition wasn’t clear.

Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, had urged voters not to fall for Trump’s tactic of casting doubt on elections.

The former president began making unsubstantiated claims about voting, ballot counting and law enforcement as Election Day voting neared its end.

He said on his social media platform that there was “talk about massive cheating in Philadelphia” and said law enforcement was on the way. He did not provide details, and there was no immediate indication of what he was referring to. His spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment about what he meant.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner issued a statement rejecting Trump’s claims as baseless.

“There is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild allegation,” Krasner said. “If Donald J. Trump has any facts to support his wild allegations, we want them now.”

Federal election security officials and Shapiro also said they had seen nothing to support Trump’s claims. Officer Miguel Torres of the Philadelphia Police Department said he was unaware of any special law enforcement mobilization or “any kind of incident” that would require it.

One of three Philadelphia election board members, Seth Bluestein, a Republican, said on social media that Trump’s comment “is yet another example of disinformation.” During an evening news conference, he emphasized the security of the city’s vote: ”There is no evidence whatsoever of massive cheating,” he said.

Police in Detroit were equally puzzled by another Trump post that said, “Philadelphia and Detroit! Heavy Law Enforcement is there!” Detroit police said there were no reported issues inside or outside of Huntington Place, the massive convention room where election workers counted ballots.

Evening traffic outside the center was light with no protesters in sight. Barricades were up outside the room and escalators to and from the area were shut off. Police also reported no major problems in the city’s more than 400 voting precincts.

“The former president said there was a strong law enforcement presence in Philadelphia and Detroit. That was not true,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said during an evening news conference.

In Milwaukee, election officials said they were recounting more than 30,000 mail ballots “out of an abundance of caution” after it was discovered that doors on the back of ballot scanners were not properly sealed. The effort, which drew the attention of Trump and the RNC, was expected to delay the count there.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson went to the Milwaukee central count location with the chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party to observe the effort. Less than two months before Election Day, the Milwaukee election office had drawn praise from Republicans who oversee elections in the state and who had expressed confidence that it was ready.

Arizona, a hotly contested swing state, saw multiple Election Day challenges. Bomb threats targeted polling locations in Cochise, Navajo and Yavapai counties, delaying some results, and frustrated Native American voters stood in hours-long lines in Apache County. A judge ordered some polling places there to remain open two extra hours because of malfunctioning equipment and a lack of printed ballots.

Throughout the day, members of the Navajo Nation reported being turned away by poll workers after waiting for hours. Over 43,000 registered voters live on the Apache County portion of the Navajo Nation, according to court documents in the lawsuit seeking the extension of voting.

Zane James said he waited out in the cold with about 50 other voters for about 2 1/2 hours before they could cast their ballots because of a problem with the site’s single printer.

“It was just a mess, it was terrible,” he said.

At a polling site in Chinle, on the Navajo Nation, Amanda Woody said she didn’t know how long it would take before she would be able to cast her ballot.

“There is a line, but I’m willing to wait,” she said. “Every vote counts.”

___

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Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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