Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said hoax threats targeting polling locations in Fulton and Gwinnett counties on Election Day originated in Russia and have been debunked.
“Georgia is not going to be intimidated. Russia just decided they picked on the wrong Georgia,” Raffensperger said. “They need to pick on the other one in the Black Sea because we’re not going to be intimidated, but we’re just excited about where we are right now.”
More than 800,000 people have cast ballots so far on Election Day in Georgia despite the hoax threats and other minor issues. Other states are also combating similar threats, according to the FBI.
“We have investigated each of these and found no active threats,” the Fulton County Police Department said in a statement. “We will continue to remain vigilant.”
Nadine Williams, Fulton’s director of registration and elections, said the county received five noncredible bomb threats, which led to the temporary evacuation of several polling locations.
Five precincts will remain open past 7 p.m. due to the closures: Etris-Darnell Community Center, C.H. Gullatt Elementary School, the Southwest Arts Center, Northwood Elementary School and Lake Forest Elementary School.
Raffensperger said the emailed hoax threats contained Cyrillic text, which tipped them off that the threats could be from Russia. State and federal security officials later concluded the threats are most likely from Russia.
Union City Mayor Vince Williams said the city was prepared for this “unfortunate circumstance.”
“This is the nonsense to expect in these types of things. I mean, people are apprehensive on all sides, and sometimes fools will do foolish things,” he said. “Let’s do what we do as Americans: exercise our right to vote and live with the circumstances after that.”
At least two Gwinnett County precincts also were evacuated due to similar threats sent in an email, Raffensperger said at an afternoon news conference. County spokeswoman Deborah Tuff said the threat led to the evacuation of the Mountain Park polling location at about 12:30 p.m. and reopened about an hour later.
Gwinnett Precincts 52 and 112 — both located at the Mountain Park Activity Center — will be open until 7:58 p.m. due to the evacuations, a judge ordered Tuesday afternoon.
“We understand how polarized America is, and we know how sometimes people want to take advantage of that,” Raffensperger said. ”They want to see us mess with each other and not get along with each other. At the end of the day, we are the United States of America. Never lose sight of that.”
Foreign election interference is nothing new, but the volume of attacks has expanded from past elections, said Cliff Steinhauer, the director of information and engagement at the National Cybersecurity Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for safe technology use and protection from cybercrime.
The threats are primarily aimed at swing states, including Georgia, he said.
”It’s not necessarily red versus blue,” Steinhauer said. “It’s really outside influence, making it seem more divided than I think it really is.”
Steinhauer said he expects foreign disinformation to continue up until the presidential inauguration.
Despite the hoaxes, voting is going smoothly across Georgia. Raffensperger says he expects more than 1 million people to vote Tuesday with “solid and steady” turnout.
“People are having a great voting experience,” Raffensberger said.
There have been other minor issues across the metro area.
Two Cobb County precinct locations delayed opening due to equipment issues, according to a press release, prompting a judge to allow the Mount Paran Church of God and Kell High School to both remain open until 7:20 p.m.
The FBI said in a press release that a fabricated video using its name and insignia falsely stated that Americans should “ ‘vote remotely’ due to a high terror threat at polling locations.” Another false video alleged that the management of prisons in several swing states, including Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania, “rigged inmate voting and colluded with a political party,” according to the FBI.
Both videos are misinformation, and people seeking information about the election or their polling location should turn to their local election office, the FBI said.
“The FBI is working closely with state and local law enforcement partners to respond to election threats and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote,” the FBI press release says. “Attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI threat assessments and activities aim to undermine our democratic process and erode trust in the electoral system.”
The FBI said foreign adversaries, particularly Russia, are attempting to “undermine public confidence in the integrity of U.S. elections and stoke divisions among Americans.”
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates
Staff writers Katherine Landergan, Mark Niesse, Patricia Murphy and Rosana Hughes contributed to this article.
