Election workers bombarded with threats as law enforcement grinds to ensure public safety

Law enforcement agencies are working overtime on Election Day to ensure public safety as election workers around the country are bombarded with threats.

In Georgia, one of seven key battleground states, two polling stations outside of Atlanta were temporarily disrupted by bomb threats on Tuesday that officials say originated in Russia. Both locations were briefly evacuated while police cleared the buildings.

GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the threats were "not credible," telling reporters, "They're up to mischief, it seems."

"They don't want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election," he added.

The FBI said similar bomb threats were made to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate "from Russian email domains."

"None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far," the agency said in a statement. "Election integrity is among the FBI's highest priorities. We will continue to work closely with our state and local law enforcement partners to respond to any threats to our elections and to protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote."

The FBI said Russia is the most active threat to the election by attempting to undermine its legitimacy, instill fear in voters and even stoke violence, including against election officials.

According to a NYPD Intelligence Bureau threat assessment obtained by ABC News, the FBI has received more than 2,000 threats to election workers across the country and opened at least 100 investigations.

Potential targets include "election personnel and government officials, campaign offices, as well as voting-related sites, infrastructure, and technology," the assessment said, per ABC News.

"Individuals may employ a variety of tactics that could include physical attacks, threats of violence, delivery of suspicious packages, swatting, arson, and property destruction, harassment, as well as cyberattacks and mis/dis/mal-information campaigns," the assessment added.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Justice Department said it would be observing 86 jurisdictions in 27 states on Election Day, deploying staff to monitor polls, lookout for instances of intimidation and disruptions, and make sure all eligible citizens' right to vote is protected.

In Philadelphia, the district attorney issued a stark warning to anyone planning to intimidate voters on Election Day: "F around and find out." DA Larry Krasner issued the warning on Monday, saying his office has assembled an Election Task Force to oversee voting and that anyone caught trying to intimidate voters "will be arrested."

"Anybody who thinks it's time to play militia, F around and find out. Anybody who thinks it's time to insult, to deride, to mistreat, to threaten people, F around and find out," he said. "We do have the cuffs, we do have the jail cells, we do have the Philly juries and we have the state prisons."

"So if you're going to try to turn an election into some form of coercion, if you're going to try to bully people, bully votes or voters, you're going to try to erase votes, you're going to try any of that nonsense, we're not playing," he continued. "F around and find out. That's what we're going to do."

Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images