Fake bomb threats targeted polling locations in seven states across the country during last year’s 2024 presidential election.
This year, it happened once again in New Jersey.
Amid the tight gubernatorial race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli, polling sites in several counties were hit with bomb or “swatting” threats on Election Day, officials reported on Tuesday.
While none were deemed credible, the incidents caused some polling locations to be briefly shut down or moved to nearby locations.
It was a low-tech crime with apparently little-to-no impact, despite the consequences for anyone held accountable.
Brian Krebs, a well-known cyber sleuth operating the website krebsonsecurity.com, said bomb scares are easy and cheap to carry out, and do not require any sort of skills. Indeed, there were at least 227 bomb threats during the 2024 election that targeted polling locations, election offices, and tabulation centers around the country according to a report earlier this year by The Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law.
Many of those threats zeroed in on numerous polling places in presidential swing states such as Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania. As in New Jersey for the gubernatorial race, the emailed threats briefly interfered with voting. Some poll hours were extended by courts as a result.
Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Brennan Center’s Voting Rights and Elections Program, said he hoped such incidents would not be something that becomes commonplace on Election Day.
“But we’ve seen it in a couple of elections in a row now, so I would not be shocked to see it again in the future,” he said.
Both in 2024 and in this current election, Morales-Doyle noted that law enforcement and election officials had been working closely together before anyone went to the polls and were likely far more prepared to respond, as the Brennan Center found in its report.
In fact, there was relatively little disruption to voting in 2024. While polling places may have been temporarily closed, he said there was little evidence that people had been discouraged to vote.
“Does this kind of disruption have an impact on voting? I don’t think so,” he said. “I don’t think they have swung elections one way or another.”
Emailed threats
The threats in New Jersey on Tuesday targeted polling locations in some of the state’s largest counties — Bergen, Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Passaic. State and federal officials are continuing to investigate to determine who may have been responsible.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office announced a North Brunswick juvenile was taken into custody for a bomb threat at the township’s Livingston Park Elementary School polling location.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said law enforcement officials responded to each polling place to secure the locations. Some were later reopened to the public, while elsewhere voters were directed to other nearby polling locations to cast their ballot.
Alina Habba, the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, said in a social media post that her office was monitoring the situation with state and local authorities. “We will ensure all voters can exercise their right to vote today in a safe manner,” Habba wrote.
An FBI spokeswoman meanwhile said the bureau was aware of the incidents, adding it was “working with our state and local partners to assist them with any potential issues.”
Law enforcement officials offered no clues as to who may have orchestrated the hoax. But during the 2024 national election, the FBI said many “appeared to originate from Russian email domains.”
The two gubernatorial candidates and their campaigns in New Jersey denounced the Election Day efforts.
“There’s no place in politics for nonsense like this. Fortunately, first responders are doing a great job to ensure that everybody is able to resume voting quickly and safely,” said Chris Russell, a Ciattarelli strategist.
Sherrill, in a statement, said the threats were “a clear attempt to undermine our democratic system and intimidate New Jerseyans from going to the polls to exercise their right to vote,” expressing gratitude for law enforcement’s swift response.
“We will not stand for voter suppression in our state — and I encourage all New Jerseyans to not be deterred as they cast their ballots today,” she said on social media.
Morales-Doyle, meanwhile, observed that while such threats are not difficult to carry out, there can nevertheless be serious consequences.
He said there are federal laws that make it a crime to conspire to interfering with the right to vote. There are also laws on the books dating back to the era of Reconstruction that make it illegal to intimidate voters.
The trend toward early voting and voting by mail has also limited the impact of attempts of interference on Election Day itself, he suggested.
“Everyone should feel safe and confident in going out and casting their vote,” he said.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.
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