A series of bomb threats originating from Russia forced two polling sites outside Atlanta to close briefly Tuesday morning, officials said.
Two precincts in the southwest suburb of Union City — Etris Community Center and Gullatt Elementary — shut down for about 30 minutes each as authorities cleared the scenes, CNN reported.
“We knew it was coming from a foreign state actor,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger said at a press conference. “Russia’s picked on the wrong Georgia. They need to pick on the other one on the Black Sea.”
Because voting was disrupted for 30 minutes, the polls would remain open for an extra 30 minutes at night, according to Raffensberger. Union City, where approximately 85% of residents are Black, voted overwhelmingly in favor of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Several other polling places received bomb threats from Russia, but voting continued in most of them, Raffensberger said. Only the two locations in Union City had to briefly pause polling for security sweeps, which ultimately deemed the threats non-credible.
“It’s really what their whole motive is: to try and destabilize America,” Raffensberger, a Republican, said of Russia. “When you don’t have much going for you, then if you can try and destabilize America, that’s probably the best you can do.”
Georgia is considered one of seven battleground states expected to be crucial in the race for president between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Fulton County, which includes Union City, is the most populous county in the state and is considered a key location.
