US vote count in key swing states delayed by unsealed doors, hoax bomb threats

Human error and hoax bomb threats have held up vote counting at some US polling stations, but the presidential election remained largely on track Tuesday night despite allegations of fraud by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

In Milwaukee, election officials report more than 30,000 absentee ballots because the doors of the ballot tabulators were not properly sealed.

The recount could delay results in Wisconsin, considered one of seven critical swing states.

Melissa Howard, spokeswoman for the Milwaukee Election Commission, said the recount was done “out of an abundance of caution” and there was no reason to believe any ballots already counted had been tampered with.

Howard said the problem was due to human error, and they took the step of recounting all the ballots in an effort to be “completely, completely transparent,” according to The Associated Press.

District attorney says Trump’s claims are baseless

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia’s district attorney said Trump’s early allegations of cheating in Tuesday’s US election have “no factual basis whatsoever.”

“Lots of talk about massive SCAM in Philadelphia. Law enforcement is coming!!!” Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon without providing context or evidence.

A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department told CBC News in an email that police are “not aware of anything” related to Trump’s claim.

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, another crucial swing state in the presidential election.

District Attorney Larry Krasner responded a post on social media platform X that the only talk of massive cheating has come from Trump himself.

SEE | No basis for allegations of voter fraud, Philadelphia district attorney says:

“Drive around and find out,” warns Philadelphia district attorney amid allegations of voter fraud

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said there is no evidence to support any allegations of voter fraud in Pennsylvania, but warned that if there are credible allegations, the time to bring them forward is before the polls close. And he had a stern warning for anyone trying to interfere in the election process.

“There is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild claim,” Krasner wrote. “We’ve been inviting complaints and allegations of impropriety all day. If Donald J. Trump has any facts to back up his wild claims, we want them now. Right now. We’re not holding our breath,” he wrote.

Krasner has been tough on election meddling, saying that anyone trying to interfere in the election in Philadelphia can “go around and find out.”

“There are handcuffs, there are cells, there are courtrooms, and there are jurors in Philadelphia who will certainly want to know why this is someone who has tried to erase their votes, block their votes, bully their votes, or take their vote away.” he said at a press conference earlier Tuesday.

Bomb threats in four states not credible: FBI

Georgia faced delays after at least two polling places targeted by hoax bomb threats in the state were briefly evacuated earlier Tuesday.

The FBI said the fake bomb threats, many of which appeared to originate from Russian email domains, targeted polling places in four battleground states — Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin.

“None of the threats have been determined to be credible at this time,” the FBI said in a statement.

Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, blamed Russian interference for the threats, according to Reuters – a claim the Russian Embassy in Washington rejected as “malicious slander”.

Bomb threats later in the day also forced an extension of voting hours in at least two Pennsylvania counties – Clearfield, in central Pennsylvania, and Chester, near Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told reporters that state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as the FBI, were investigating multiple bomb threats across the state.

“So far, there is no credible threat to the public,” Shapiro said.