Bomb threats that were unfounded in three metro Atlanta counties, plus problems with voting equipment, kept at least 15 precincts open later Tuesday night.
The emailed threats were made to precincts in Fulton, Gwinnett and DeKalb counties, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. In addition, Cobb County election officials said two precincts had delayed openings Tuesday morning while equipment problems were resolved.
By 8:30 p.m., all precincts in the Atlanta area were closed.
DEKALB
Late Tuesday in DeKalb County, bomb threats temporarily evacuated six precincts, county officials said. Nothing suspicious was located.
The DeKalb police department conducted bomb sweeps at the following precincts: New Bethel AME Church in Lithonia, New Life Community Center in Decatur, Briarwood Recreation Center in Atlanta, North DeKalb Senior Center in Chamblee, Reid H. Cofer Library in Tucker and Wesley Chapel Library in Decatur. Two other locations that were not precincts also received threats and were checked, the county said.
“Every asset that we have will be deployed to ensure that every citizen who wants to vote will be given that opportunity and every vote cast will be counted,” DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.
County leaders were granted an emergency order extending the voting times at the affected polling locations.
New Bethel, New Life and the Reid Cofer library precincts remained open until 7:38 p.m. The Wesley Chapel library stayed open until 8:03 p.m., the Briarwood precinct until 8:22 p.m. and North DeKalb closed 8:29 p.m.
FULTON
Five Fulton polling locations also had extended voting hours due to temporary evacuation, the Fulton County Superior Court ruled Thursday afternoon.
Credit: Tucker Jennings
Credit: Tucker Jennings
Here are the precincts with extended hours:
Lake Forest Elementary School: Open until 7:10 p.m.
C.H. Gullatt Elementary School: Open until 7:15 p.m.
Southwest Arts Center: Open until 7:43 p.m.
Etris Darnell Community Center: Open until 7:45 p.m.
Northwood Elementary School: Open until 7:45 p.m.
GWINNETT
In Gwinnett County, county spokeswoman Deborah Tuff said the threat led to the evacuation of the Mountain Park polling locations at 12:30 p.m. and reopened about an hour later.
Gwinnett Precincts 52 and 112 — both located at the Mountain Park Activity Center — were open until 7:58 p.m. due to the evacuations, a judge ordered Tuesday afternoon.
COBB
Polls stayed open an extra 20 minutes at two Cobb precincts in the Marietta area.
Voters assigned to the two sites — Mount Paran Church of God at 1700 Allgood Road and Kell High School at 4770 Lee Waters Road — had until 7:20 p.m. to get in line to cast their ballots under an order signed by Judge Ann Harris.
Cobb County Elections Director Tate Fall said in an affidavit that those polling places opened 20 minutes late.
Under Georgia law, poll hours can be extended by as much time as a precinct lost due to closures and delays.
— Staff writers Taylor Croft and Allie Gross contributed to this article.
About the Author
