Law enforcement and election officials in New Jersey acted quickly Tuesday to secure polling places after a series of bomb threats, later determined to be unfounded.
Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way, also the state’s top election official, said the threats were emailed to seven counties, including Passaic, a key swing county where the Department of Justice had deployed federal election monitors. “Law enforcement has determined that there are no credible threats at this time,” Way said.
The threats came on the final day of voting in the state’s closely watched gubernatorial race, one year after bomb threat hoaxes disrupted ballots in several battleground states. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said the threats targeted polling locations in Bergen, Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Passaic counties. Some locations had already reopened, while voters at others were redirected to nearby sites.
The FBI’s Newark office confirmed it was assisting state and local authorities. Passaic County, which received three threats, redirected some voters, and a school-based polling site was cleared and reopened, county spokesperson Lindsay Reed said.
Passaic is one of six counties across New Jersey and California where the DOJ recently sent federal observers. The other five counties are in California, where a special election asks voters to approve a congressional map redraw. President Trump called the California redistricting vote a “giant scam,” saying the process, particularly mail-in ballots, is rigged and that Republicans in the state are being shut out. He said the matter is under “very serious legal and criminal review. Stay tuned.”
