Earlier this week, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) called for an investigation into bomb threats officials say occurred on Election Day in Georgia and other states.
Warnock led a total of nine lawmakers in calling on several federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies to investigate the bomb threats, which officials believe came from Russian email domains at multiple polling locations.
The threats are said to have happened to at least 67 polling locations in 19 counties in swing states across the nation – including Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Some of those locations shutdown temporarily after the threats, according to officials. Thirteen of those polling sites were in Georgia – many of which were located in majority-Black precincts in the metro Atlanta area.
In a letter, Warnock called for federal officials to provide a classified briefing to senators “examining the facts” behind the Election Day bomb threats.
“The right to vote is a sacred cornerstone of our democracy. It is unacceptable that any foreign actor interferes, or attempts to interfere, with this right…” lawmakers, including Warnock, wrote. “Online disinformation intended to sow doubt about election integrity is alarming enough. That foreign actors would take direct steps to shut down polling locations on Election Day is a new and deeply concerning escalation, and it must not stand.”
The letter added: “No voter should ever be turned away from a polling booth because a foreign actor falsely reported a bomb threat. A failure to respond to these egregious actions will only embolden foreign actors and invite more severe activity in future elections.”
Warnock was able to secure support from Sens Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Peter Welch (D-VT).
