The country’s cyber defense agency said Tuesday evening that the voting process remained secure across the country despite hoax bomb threats against polling stations, pushing back on an unspecified claim of “cheating” by Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Cait Conley, a senior adviser to the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters that they are “not currently monitoring any significant incidents with national-level implications for the security of election infrastructure.”
“What we have seen consistently in these states and affected jurisdictions is the incredible resilience of this process, and that is thanks to the election officials who have been so vigilant in preparing for this election cycle,” she said.
The FBI said Tuesday that implausible bomb threats have been made to polling places in several states, many of which appear to have come from Russian email domains. The agency’s statement did not directly accuse Russian actors of being behind the threats.
Additional bomb threats against Georgia led to longer hours at a dozen polling places later in the day, according to state election officials.
A state court in Georgia ordered several polling places in DeKalb County to stay open until an hour after polls would normally close following several bomb threats against polling places.
The statement comes as US intelligence officials have warned that Russia-linked actors are working to undermine the validity of the election and “spark fear among voters about the electoral process.”
Conley reiterated earlier warnings from U.S. officials that foreign adversaries “could continue their malign influence activities in the coming days, attempting to undermine the American public’s confidence in the legitimacy of our election results, regardless of the outcome.”
“We cannot let our opponents have a voice in our democracy, so let us all remain vigilant,” Conley said.
US officials have reported that Russia wants to boost Trump’s candidacy while Iran favors Vice President Kamala Harris, and officials have exposed specific cases of misinformation in the final weeks before the election.
In one example, Russian influence actors produced and amplified a video that falsely showed an interview with an individual “alleging election fraud in Arizona, creating counterfeit foreign ballots and altering voter rolls,” according to a joint statement Monday from CISA, the FBI. and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Intelligence officials also reported that Russian influence actors posted an article falsely claiming that “U.S. officials in swing states plan to orchestrate election fraud using a range of tactics, including ballot fraud and cyber attacks,” the joint statement said.
Conley said Tuesday that the U.S. will face “an increased scope and scale of foreign influence operations” this year compared to previous election cycles. Russia, she said, has the most capabilities and sophistication in attacking U.S. elections among foreign adversaries.
Trump Claims
In a post on social media, Trump, the Republican candidate, posted: “There is a lot of talk about massive cheating in Philadelphia. Law enforcement is coming!!!” In another, Trump posted: “Philadelphia and Detroit! There is heavy law enforcement!!!”
Asked about the possibility of fraud on a broader level in Pennsylvania, Conley said their office is “in close communication today with state and local election officials across the country.”
“We have no data or reports to support these claims,” she said.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner issued a statement Tuesday saying there is “no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild accusation.”
And Seth Bluestein, a Philadelphia city commissioner, posted on social media that there was “absolutely no truth to this accusation. It is yet another example of disinformation.”
— Michael Macagnone contributed to this report