November 6th 2024.
The 2024 US election has been a mostly smooth process, but it hasn't been without its challenges. Multiple battleground states have been hit with bomb threats, causing disruptions and evacuations in some polling places. The threats were reported throughout the day in Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, with some locations even extending their voting hours due to the delays.
The bomb threats were reported in three metro Atlanta counties, all of which have a large number of Democratic voters. There were also reports of threats in Pennsylvania, causing evacuations in some voting locations. Governor Josh Shapiro addressed the situation in a press conference, assuring the public that there was no credible threat and that every legal vote would be counted accurately. He also emphasized the importance of respecting the will of the people in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania State Police and other local partners were working together to respond to any potential threats. However, Governor Shapiro and the police did not provide any further details about the source of the bomb threats or why they believed there was no threat to the public. In Fulton County, Georgia, which includes Atlanta, 32 out of 177 polling places received bomb threats, resulting in five brief evacuations.
The FBI announced that they were aware of multiple hoax bomb threats in several states, many of which originated from Russian email domains. Despite these challenges, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger declared that the state would not be intimidated. Meanwhile, President Trump made unsubstantiated claims of fraud and interference in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Milwaukee, which are crucial cities for deciding the presidency.
Local officials quickly refuted these claims, stating that there were no indications of any problems that would affect the accurate tallying of votes. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner emphasized that the only talk of massive cheating came from one candidate, Donald J. Trump, and that there was no factual basis to support these allegations. Additionally, Republican Philadelphia Commissioner Seth Bluestein denied Trump's claims and reassured that voting in Philadelphia was safe and secure.
Despite the absence of significant and widespread issues, Trump and the Republican National Committee continued to make claims of fraud and interference during the early voting period. In Georgia, a federal judge dismissed a last-minute effort by Republicans to challenge the collection of mail ballots in Atlanta-area election offices. The judge deemed their argument as frivolous and lacking statutory review and reading comprehension.
President Trump stated that he would not challenge the results of the election as long as it was fair, although it is unclear what he considers as "fair." His opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, has urged voters not to fall for Trump's tactics of casting doubt on the election process. She spent the afternoon turning out her own vote at a phone bank hosted by the Democratic National Committee and praised phone banking as a representation of the best of American values.
In Milwaukee, election officials discovered that the doors on the back of ballot scanners were not properly sealed, causing them to recount more than 30,000 mail ballots out of an abundance of caution. This effort also caught the attention of Trump and the Republican National Committee, causing a delay in vote counting. With over 84 million Americans voting early, it was expected that at least half of all votes would be cast by Tuesday, and despite a few hiccups and frustrations, the process was largely expected and planned for.
Cait Conley, senior adviser to the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, reassured the public that there were no significant national incidents affecting election security. She stated that the problems that occurred on the final day of voting were routine and expected. As the election continues to unfold, stay updated with the latest breaking news, sports, politics, and weather by downloading the 9NEWS app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
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