Additional Coverage:
Voting Extended in Passaic County After Bomb Scares Disrupt Election Day
PATERSON, NJ – A Passaic County judge ordered extended polling hours in parts of the county on Tuesday evening, allowing voters more time to cast their ballots after a series of unfounded bomb threats earlier in the day caused disruptions across Northern New Jersey.
The ruling permits three schools in the Paterson area to remain open until 9 p.m. ET.
The decision followed a lawsuit filed by the county’s Democratic Party, seeking an extension for voters impacted by the temporary closures. A state judge, at an emergency hearing, deemed the “unusual, extraordinary relief” a “fair thing to do” given the circumstances.
Multiple polling places across Northern New Jersey were temporarily shuttered Tuesday morning after receiving emailed bomb threats, which authorities later determined to be hoaxes. The threats led election officials to redirect some voters to alternate locations.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin confirmed that while many polling places had reopened swiftly, some voters were still being directed to nearby sites.
In a separate incident, authorities in New Jersey arrested a juvenile in connection with a bomb threat targeting a school polling location in North Brunswick. It remains unclear whether this individual is linked to the wider string of threats. Police are investigating reports of a bomb threat at Livingston Park Elementary School, which was quickly debunked, leading to the juvenile’s apprehension and the recovery of electronic devices used in the threat.
Similar “swatting” threats, characterized as hoaxes by officials, were also reported at polling sites in New York City, though no locations were closed. The NYPD is investigating these incidents, which occurred in Greenwich Village, Midtown, and Harlem and shared similarities with the New Jersey threats.
Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda confirmed that the emails sent to New Jersey voting precincts contained “fake claims of bomb threats.” Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way, New Jersey’s top election official, assured the public that authorities are “doing everything in our power to protect voters and poll workers.”
The threatening emails targeted polling locations in Bergen, Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Passaic counties. New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill stated that such threats would not deter voters, calling them “an attempt to suppress the vote.”
Elsewhere, a polling location in Newport News, Virginia, was relocated after a vehicle crashed into the church building on Saturday. Virginia Elections Commissioner Susan Beals affirmed the state’s readiness to address Election Day issues, ensuring “every eligible voter can vote.”