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Threats were made at locations across Pennsylvania, according to a statement by Governor Josh Shapiro at a press conference on election night. None of the threats were credible, the Gov. Shapiro explained.
We can watch the conference in full in the player below.
The FBI explained that these threats were made at polling locations in several states, in a release on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
Many of the threats "appear to originate from Russian email domains," the FBI explained, adding that "None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far."
The threat we have the most information on was made towards 601 Westtown Road in West Chester which houses the county Voter Services Center.
Dogs searched the building and no explosives were located, according to Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell.
The threat "mirrors the bomb threats sent to election offices across Pennsylvania and the United States," Maxwell wrote in an update.
"Chester County election officials are redirecting voters who vote at the two polling places located at the Government Services Center to neighboring polling places where they will be able to cast their votes provisionally. The voting hours for the two neighboring polling places have been extended to 10:00 PM for those voters only."
The DA further explained that a court order allowed the change in voting locations. "Voters who were supposed to cast ballots at Precincts 280 (West Goshen S-2) and Precinct 286 (West Goshen S-4) were redirected to Precinct 275 (West Goshen S-1) located at West Chester 7th Day Adventist Church or Precinct 285 (West Goshen S-3) located at Glen Acres Elementary School. Voting hours were extended to 10:00 p.m. specifically for these voters," the DA detailed in a release at 10:17 p.m.
The mail-in ballot count was not affected by the incident as the processing takes place at a different location, the DA concluded.
At 9:40 p.m. Daily Voice received an email from York County officials regarding a threat made to a polling place in East York:
“The York County Board of Elections can confirm that a non-credible bomb threat was received, targeting the East York location of the York County Elections and Voter Registration Office at 2401 Pleasant Valley Road. The York County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene with a K-9 unit and determined there was no credible threat to our employees or the public. The threat did not impact elections operations. The office remained open, and voting operations continued uninterrupted while this incident was being investigated. The County of York is coordinating with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office and state and federal law enforcement authorities. This noncredible threat appears to be similar to others that were reported, targeting elections offices and polling locations elsewhere in Pennsylvania and other states on Election Day.”
The Perry County Board of Elections posted the following on its website:
"Due to receiving a bomb threat, the County of Perry was prevented from scanning mail-in and absentee ballots election night. The scanning of those ballots will transpire starting at 10:00 a.m. in the Freedom Building on Wednesday, November 6, 2024."
The FBI wants the public to know that election integrity is among its "highest priorities."
The FBI concluded:
"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 urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to state or local law enforcement, or submit tips to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.
This is a developing story so check back here for updates.
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