WASHINGTON (AP) — A series of bomb threats in several Battlefield States and baseless allegations of wrongdoing by former President Donald Trump disrupted otherwise smooth proceedings. Election Day who styled a tumultuous presidential campaign.

Bomb threats in parts of Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania on Tuesday turned out to be hoaxes, but they forced some polling places to evacuate and extended opening hours, and delayed the counting of certain ballot papers.

THE threats were reported throughout the day at polling places in three metro Atlanta counties, all with large numbers of Democratic voters, and into the evening at polling places and election offices across Pennsylvania where the ballots were counted. Bomb threats were also reported at several polling locations in three Arizona counties, according to the secretary of state’s office.

The dramatic and unsettling end to Election Day came after a highly successful early voting period, when at least half of all expected presidential election votes had been cast. Tuesday, more than 84 million Americans had already voted.

Overall, the last day of voting was characterized by the same kind of routine hiccups and frustrations seen in other elections: an election official forgetting to bring a key; ballot printing errors; the ballot counting machines do not work.

The vast majority of problems were “widely expected, routine and planned events,” said Cait Conley, senior adviser to the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Turnout Tuesday was robust in many states. In Nevada, one of the West’s two presidential battlegrounds, long lines were reported in Reno and Las Vegas. After polls closed, there was another three-hour wait at a polling place at the University of Nevada, Reno, according to local election officials.

Despite no evidence of widespread voting problems, Trump made unsubstantiated claims about Philadelphia and Detroit and raised questions about election operations in Milwaukee, the largest cities in three states crucial to deciding the presidency.

Local officials quickly dismissed Trump’s claims on his social media platform, saying there was no indication of a problem that would affect the accurate vote count.

The lack of major problems hasn’t stopped Trump, the Republican nominee or the Republican National Committee from making numerous allegations of fraud or election interference during the early voting period, which could pose a risk. prelude to challenges after election day.

In Georgia, a federal judge ruled “frivolous” a last-minute attempt by Republicans to challenge the collection of mail-in ballots by Atlanta-area election offices last weekend – after early voting ended. . U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker, a Trump appointee, said the Republican Party’s argument “does not stand up to even the most basic level of statutory scrutiny and written comprehension.”

Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, had urged voters not to get caught in the trap. Trump’s tactics of cast doubt on the elections.

The former president began making unsubstantiated claims about voting, vote counting and law enforcement as Election Day voting drew to a close.

He said on his social media platform that there was “talk of massive cheating in Philadelphia” and that law enforcement was on the way. He provided no details and there was no immediate indication of what he was referring to. His spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment on what he meant.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner issued a statement dismissing Trump’s claims as baseless.

“There is no factual basis within law enforcement to support this wild allegation,” Krasner said. “If Donald J. Trump has facts to support his wild claims, we want them now. »

Federal election security officials and Shapiro also said they had seen nothing to support Trump’s claims. Officer Miguel Torres of the Philadelphia Police Department said he was not aware of any special law enforcement mobilizations or “any type of incident” that would require it.

One of three members of Philadelphia’s election board, Seth Bluestein, a Republican, said on social media that Trump’s comment “is yet another example of misinformation.” At an evening news conference, he emphasized the security of voting in the city: “There is no evidence of massive cheating,” he said.

Detroit police were also perplexed by another message from Trump that read: “Philadelphia and Detroit!” Heavy security forces are here! Detroit police said no problems were reported inside or outside Huntington Place, the massive convention hall where election workers were counting ballots.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson visited the Milwaukee counting center with the chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party to observe the efforts. Less than two months before Election Day, the Milwaukee elections office received praise from Republicans who oversee elections in the state and who expressed his confidence that he was ready.

Arizona, a hotly contested swing state, saw many Election Day challenges. Bomb threats targeted polling places in Cochise, Navajo and Yavapai counties, delaying some results, and frustrated Native American voters waited in line for hours in Apache County. A judge ordered some polling places to stay open two extra hours due to equipment malfunctions and a lack of printed ballots.

Throughout the day, members of the Navajo Nation reported being turned away by poll workers after waiting for hours. More than 43,000 registered voters live in the Apache County portion of the Navajo Nation, according to court documents in the lawsuit seeking to extend voting.

Zane James said he waited in the cold with about 50 other voters for about two and a half hours before being able to vote due to a problem with the site’s only printer.

“It was just a disaster, it was terrible,” he said.

At a polling place in Chinle, on the Navajo Nation, Amanda Woody said she didn’t know how long it would be before she could vote.

“There’s a line, but I’m willing to wait,” she said. “Every vote counts.”

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