Some Georgia polling locations extend hours after receiving bomb threats linked to Russia

Several Georgia polling locations in the Atlanta area received bomb threats on Election Day that are believed to be linked to Russia, state and federal authorities said.

Five polling sites in Fulton County, six sites in DeKalb County, one in Gwinnett County and one in Clayton County received threats on Election Day that authorities said were not credible. However, all the locations had to close temporarily while law enforcement and the FBI investigated the threats.

The polling locations obtained court orders to stay open beyond the statewide 7 p.m. closing time to make up for the closures. Under Georgia law, poll hours can be extended for as much time as a precinct lost to closures and delays.

State and federal officials said Tuesday that they concluded the threats, which were sent by email, came from Russia due to the Cyrillic letters in the text. Cyrillic script is the alphabet used in the Russian language.

“They’re up to mischief it seems,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a Tuesday press conference about the threats. “They don’t want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election.”

Other swing states have received threats as well, including locations in Arizona and Michigan. The FBI also believes many of those threats may have originated in Russia. Those threats also were deemed to not be credible.

No polling locations in Middle Georgia received bomb threats on Election Day.

A polling location in Jones County received a threat in October. A 25-year-old poll worker from Milledgeville, Nicholas Wimbish, was arrested for the threats and charged with mailing a bomb threat, conveying false information about a bomb threat, mailing a threatening letter and making false statements to the FBI, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Wimbish faces up to 25 years in prison.

This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 8:52 PM.