Election security: Officials say 2024 election saw only 'minor' disruptive activities

Voting hours were extended at a number of polling sites due to technical issues.

From the polling place to the courtroom, ABC News tracks the latest election security developments on Election Day 2024 as experts warn about the spread of misinformation and disinformation from within the U.S. and abroad.

Security experts stress that the nation's voting infrastructure is highly secure, and that isolated voting issues do not indicate widespread election fraud.

For coverage of each race, see our election updates.

Nov 4, 10:33 am

How to watch ABC News coverage of Election Day

On Election Day, voters around the country will eagerly wait to hear if former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris comes out on top in the race for the White House.

ABC News will have full coverage of the presidential election results and many other key down-ballot races on Election Day and the days afterward as votes continue to get counted.

Here's how to watch ABC News live coverage of 2024 election results.

Nov 05, 2024, 12:20 PM EST

Raffensperger confident Georgia will have results tonight, says bomb threats 'of Russian origin'

Georgia's top election official on Tuesday morning projected confidence that the critical battleground state will have the large majority of its election results available tonight, saying that election day in the state has been "smooth sailing by and large" and a "tremendous" day.

Specifically on timing, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that the state's 4 million early votes as well absentee ballots will be uploaded and reported no later than one hour after the polls close, which for most locations will be 7 p.m.

"So by 8 p.m., you'll have probably 99% of all that ... so you get a good idea of what the race looks like," he said.

With regards to votes from today, Raffensperger said "before the end of the night, you'll have all of that." He noted smaller counties are aiming to have all of their results in by 10/1030 p.m. "at the latest."

Notably, Raffensperger was also asked about bomb threats made Tuesday, which he said were "of Russian origin."

"We identified the source and it was from Russia," he said, after hedging briefly on the source.

"They're up to mischief it seems," he said of Russia: "They're not our friends anyone who thinks they are hasn't been reading the newspaper."

Raffensperger said he thinks they will pass 1 million votes today, and said they are ready for any litigation to come their way.

"We're gonna follow the law, follow the Constitution, and report the results accurately."

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin

Nov 05, 2024, 12:10 PM EST

DC polling site briefly closed due to suspicious package

A polling location in Washington, D.C., was briefly closed for less than an hour Tuesday morning after "officers were notified of a suspicious package," police said.

The city's Explosive Ordnance Disposal responded to the scene near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and quickly determined the item posed no threat.

The polling site has since reopened.

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson

Nov 05, 2024, 11:52 AM EST

Arizona's top election official gives update, speaks on Russian video

At a press conference on Tuesday, Arizona's top election official said "everything in the state of Arizona is running about as smoothly as it could be."

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said there have been minor incidents Tuesday including a county that briefly lost power and a polling site that opened late after an employee forgot their keys to the polling site. Fontes added that his office received eight calls today— four from counties reporting individuals who were electioneering within 75 feet of polling locations.

When asked by reporters about poll watchers, Fontes said county officials are aware that party observers have to be credentialed and added that the Department of Justice sent federal monitors to four counties. Fontes also warned that it is against the law to photograph or record inside a polling location.

"If you want to memorialize the moment, get outside the 75-foot line, take your selfie and then go in and vote," Fontes said. "Not only do we want to protect the process, but the privacy of the other voters and our staff that are engaged in this process. "

Fontes said that it will take longer for election officials to process results because of the two-page ballot and a new state law that requires poll workers to count the number of mail ballot envelopes dropped off at the location before they deliver results to the central counting facility.

"Please exercise patience," the Arizona Secretary of State said.

When asked about the Russian manufactured video that was released on Monday, Fontes said the video is an "attempt from foreign actors to influence our election and make people lose faith in the work [election officials] do."

"I've got the National Guard working to monitor our computer systems 24/7," Fontes said.

-ABC News' Laura Romero

Nov 05, 2024, 10:51 AM EST

5 'non-credible' bomb threats in Fulton County led to evacuations

The head of elections in Fulton County — the largest in the critical battleground state of Georgia -- on Monday said they had a smooth start this morning with all locations opening on time and tens of thousands of voters casting their ballots, though two locations were briefly evacuated after a series of bomb threats.

Elections director Nadine Williams said the county received 5 "non-credible" bomb threats that lead to two voting locations being evacuated for approximately 30 minutes each. The county is working on going to court to extend the hours for those locations.

"All polling sites are secure with an active security presence," Williams assured.

"Outside of these brief interruptions, Election Day has been quiet, with minimal issues reported," she continued, "and we remain prepared to address any misinformation or additional disruption to ensure a smooth experience for all voters today."

Williams said that as of 9:40 this morning, 29,500 ballots have been cast in the county.

People vote at a polling place on Election Day in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 5, 2024.
Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images

Regarding timing of the results, Williams said that the 417,000 votes from advance voting, as well as the mail ballots received through Monday, will be uploaded by 8 p.m. tonight.

As far as the rest of the locations, Williams said that barring no long lines tonight, those memory cards with today's votes should be back at the main center where they "are hoping before midnight we should see the rest of the results come up."

"As [memory cards] arrive, we will start uploading," Williams said.

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin