By Ojorumi Okoka

Howard University News Service

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, two polling stations in Fulton County, Georgia were evacuated after authorities received false bomb threats.

The threats, which authorities deemed “non-credible,” were sent to a total of five Fulton County polling locations, according to Fulton County Director of Registration and Elections Nadine Williams.

The two locations, The C.H. Elementary School and the Etris-Darnell Senior Center, were evacuated for a period of 30 minutes and were reopened soon after. 

According to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, federal officials believe that the threats originated from Russia, and had been identified that they were sent from “Russian email domains.”

In a statement issued shortly after the event, The FBI said: “We will continue to work closely with our state and local law enforcement partners to respond to any threats to our elections and to protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote.” 

The FBI stressed the importance of reporting suspicious activity to state or local law enforcement, alongside their own hotline 1-800-CALL-FBI. 

Raffensperger mentioned that he didn’t believe the polling disruption would affect voting in the county.

However, the polling stations disturbed by the threats are vying for a court-ordered extension to allow voting past the 7 p.m. deadline. 

Raffensperger’s office shared data showing the average check-in time for voting was 49 seconds, and the average wait time was two minutes.

According to Reuters, the FBI has identified similar threats in several states, all of which share the same email domain origins.

Ojorumi Okoka is a HU News Service reporter.