Georgia Secretary of State Claims Polling Place Bomb Threat Originated from Russia
(This article has been updated to include additional details.)
On Tuesday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that a bomb threat targeting a polling place was made, attributing it to Russian sources and deeming it unreliable. He later provided more details in a press conference, stating that the threat impacted five to seven voting precincts across various counties in Georgia.
“For the safety of the public, it’s important to investigate such threats,” Raffensperger stated.
“It seems they are up to no good,” he remarked regarding the Russians. “They are trying to disrupt our fair and accurate election process.”
While Raffensperger mentioned that federal agencies were involved in assessing the threat, he did not specify which law enforcement bodies responded or how he determined the threat’s Russian origin. He noted that the situation was managed effectively with law enforcement acting promptly Tuesday morning.
As one of seven pivotal battleground states, Georgia is seen as a target for foreign election interference, particularly in determining the outcome of the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
In addition to the bomb threat, Russians have been accused of other disruptive actions in Georgia. A misleading video circulating on social media falsely shows a Haitian immigrant claiming to have voted multiple times in Georgia; this incident has been attributed to Russian interference, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Raffensperger’s office labeled the video as “targeted disinformation,” likely produced by “Russian troll farms.”
Russians have also been linked to a cyber attack known as a denial-of-service attack on Raffensperger’s office website that occurred on October 14. However, Raffensperger indicated that adding a verification question for website visitors effectively mitigated the attack.