From the polling place to the courtroom, ABC News tracks the latest election security developments 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.
Latest Developments
Nov 5, 5:37 PM
Officials extend voting hours at some sites following delays
Isolated voting delays at several polling places around the country have prompted local officials to seek voting-hour extensions, which typically happens during every election cycle.
Among those sites whose hours have been extended are the following:
Cobb County, Georgia (20 minutes)
A judge granted Cobb County’s request to keep two polling locations open an additional 20 minutes until 7:20 p.m. ET because of delayed openings due to “equipment issues,” the county said in a statement.
Gwinnett County, Georgia (58 minutes)
A judge granted Gwinnett County’s request to keep two polling locations open for an additional 58 minutes until 7:58 p.m. ET due to a security threat prompted a temporary evacuation earlier today.
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (90 minutes)
A judge granted Luzerne County’s request to extend voting for 90 minutes until 9:30 p.m. ET after one polling location in Laflin opened late.
Cambria County, Pennsylvania (2 hours)
A Pennsylvania judge ordered voting hours to be extended for two hours in Cambria County after scanners there were not able to read ballot markings and tabulate votes.
Wilson County and Burke County, North Carolina (30 minutes)
The North Carolina State Board of Elections approved extending the voting hours by 30 minutes at two precincts after both opened late this morning due to technical issues.
ABC News’ Luc Bruggeman
Nov 5, 5:29 PM
Federal judge rejects RNC lawsuit seeking to block GA voters from hand-returning mail-in ballots
A federal judge has rejected an RNC lawsuit seeking to block some Georgia counties from accepting ballots that were hand-delivered over the weekend and Monday, according to Marc Elias, a lawyer working for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
Judge R. Stan Baker — who was appointed by former President Donald Trump — said the lawsuit from Republicans “does not withstand even the most basic level of statutory review and reading comprehension,” per Elias.
Republicans had claimed that the seven Georgia counties that were accepting hand-delivered mail-in ballots after the early voting period were violating the law.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Nov 5, 4:27 PM
Voting hours extended at 2 North Carolina polling places
The North Carolina State Board of Elections approved extending the voting hours at two precincts after both opened late this morning due to technical issues.
The Gardners School precinct in Wilson County and Pilot Mountain Precinct in Burke County will be open for 30 additional minutes.
The extended hours in the two countries will not impact the timing of results for the rest of the state, authorities said.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
Nov 5, 4:12 PM
US Capitol Police arrest man with flare gun, torch
The U.S. Capitol Police said they arrested a man who smelled like fuel and had a flare gun and a torch while going through screening at the Capitol’s visitor center.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told reporters that officers found a flare gun, lighter, and torch lighter in the man’s jacket and two bottles that appeared to contain some sort of accelerant, possibly gasoline.
The suspect had papers he told officers he intended to deliver to Congress. Investigators are working to determine what his intentions were. Capitol Police said they’re unclear if he wanted to set himself on fire or his items.
The officers were tipped off because the suspect had “heavier clothing than was warranted for a day like today,” Manger said, as afternoon temperatures in D.C. were around 75 degrees.
The visitor center has been closed for tours while police investigate.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Nov 5, 3:45 PM
Election integrity expert warns about the spread of misinformation
In a closely contested election, even the slightest hint of doubt about whether votes are counted accurately could incite violence and exacerbate political divisions in the U.S.
ABC News’ Linsey Davis sat down with Michael Waldman, president of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice, to talk about the unprecedented security of U.S. elections and the threat of misinformation.
Read more here.
Nov 5, 3:35 PM
New York State Assembly candidate arrested for harassing voters
A New York State Assembly candidate was arrested the morning of Election Day at a polling site in Queens.
The Republican candidate, Jonathan David Rinaldi, was issued a summons for harassing voters while shouting “baby killers” and holding a sign reading “Vote Rinaldi.”
After he was given numerous commands to stop, police handcuffed him.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
Nov 5, 2:31 PM
Law enforcement agencies prepared for unrest beyond Election Day
Law enforcement officials say they’re prepared to deal with unrest on Election Day, but expect the threat to continue in the days that follow.
Election workers across the country are being bombarded with threats and law enforcement agencies nationwide are dedicating “substantial resources” to ensure public safety during the election, a new threat assessment obtained by ABC News says.
“It is more likely that in the aftermath of the election results and the counting of the Electoral College votes, that individuals who believe that the election was rigged, stolen, or unfairly decided could decide to conduct lone offender or lone wolf attacks in response,” said Javed Ali, the former senior counterterrorism coordinator at the National Security Council and now an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
Read more here.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Nov 5, 2:47 PM
FBI says election threats appear to originate from Russia
The FBI said in a statement that they are aware of bomb threats in “several states” and “many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains.”
“None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far,” the FBI said.
Earlier, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said a series of bomb threats in Fulton County appeared to come from Russia, but did not explain further.
“As always, we urge the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to state or local law enforcement, or submit tips to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov,” the agency said.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr and Pierre Thomas
Nov 5, 2:21 PM
National voter hotline receives 6,000 calls, reports no major issues
Representatives from the nation’s largest voter help hotline echoed what ABC News heard from state election officials in the battlegrounds: So far, so good. There have been no major disruptions or other issues beyond isolated, garden-variety episodes, the hotline said.
The Election Protection Hotline (1-866-OUR-VOTE) is run by the nonpartisan Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and is staffed by 4,776 volunteer lawyers across 50 states. ABC News has profiled and embedded with this service in previous elections.
As of noon ET, the hotline has received 6,000 calls from voters. The majority of the calls have come in from Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and Michigan.
Most of those were reporting frustration with long lines, delays in polling place opening, or difficulty using electronic voting machines.
So far, organizers have seen no widespread episodes of violence or intimidation.
The longest lines tracked by hotline are in Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania, particularly near college campuses. Legal teams are seeking voting extensions at select polling places in Georgia, Illinois and Kentucky, where there were delays in opening this morning — but nothing out of the ordinary.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer
Nov 5, 1:47 PM
Arizona county official refutes misinformation about voting centers being shut down
At a press conference, a Maricopa County official debunked misinformation circulating on X about voting centers in the county being shut down due to issues with the printers.
“There have been no vote centers that have been shut down,” said Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates.
Earlier today, Tyler Bowyer, an executive with Turning Point USA who was charged in the Arizona 2020 fake elector case, posted on X that the right-wing group was sending buses to move people to functioning voting centers in Maricopa County.
“We have reports of multiple vote centers with ink issues in Maricopa County,” Bowyer posted.
Gates said the printers are being serviced as usual. “We are out there going ahead and servicing the printers as we normally would,” the Maricopa County official said in response to Bowyer’s tweets.
The Maricopa County supervisor said that as of Monday, more than 1.5 million voters in the county had returned early ballots. About 70- 75% of those votes will be reported in the first batch of results at 8 p.m., he said.
Gates also said that if voters get in line at 7 p.m., they will have an opportunity to vote no matter how long lines are.
“Stay in line and go ahead and vote,” he said.
-ABC News’ Laura Romero
