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Published on November 09, 2024
Election Shockwave, Bomb Threats Halt Vote Counts in Southern California's Orange and Riverside CountiesSource: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

On a tense Friday evening, as the nation's eyes were locked onto the slow trickle of election results, bomb threats rocked through the voter-registration offices of two Southern California counties, prompting swift and serious responses from local law enforcement agencies. The offices in question, responsible for the meticulous tabulation of ballots from the November 2024 general election, were those of Orange and Riverside counties, according to a report by NBC Los Angeles, each received a bomb threat that led to immediate evacuations of their facilities.

With the sanctity of election procedure held in high esteem, the disruptions sowed by unidentified threats carved a fault line of concern across the administrative landscape. During vote counting, the Orange County Registrar's Santa Ana office was under siege by these threats, which were reported at around 6:20 p.m. and came mere moments before the day's ballot processing was to cease. "The Orange County Registrar of Voters is committed to ensuring equal access to the election process, protecting the integrity of votes, and maintaining a transparent, accurate, and fair election system," Registrar of Voters Bob Page remarked, in a statement obtained by CBS News Los Angeles. His office assured the public that they are diligently working to keep staff and visitors safe.

The OC Registrar’s office was evacuated 15 minutes before closing for ballot processing. Bomb detection dogs were brought in to search the building, but no explosives were found, as per NBC Los Angeles. Governor Newsom’s press office posted on X that they were monitoring the situation in coordination with Attorney General Rob Bonta.