A viable bomb threat forced an evacuation at Turtle Back Zoo on Saturday, shutting down the Essex County voting site on the first day of mail-in voting before investigators could clear the area. The Essex County Sheriff's Office received the call at 10:45 a.m., and after sweeping the grounds, found no bomb. Voting resumed at the site by 12:20 p.m., but the zoo itself stayed closed for the rest of the day.
The threat and its aftermath were first reported by NJ.com, which noted that an investigation into the threat remained ongoing according to the sheriff's office. Social media posts recognizing the potential threat began circulating online late Saturday morning as word spread that the popular West Orange attraction, which doubles as a polling location, had been cleared out.
Local Democrats Urge Voters Not to Be Deterred
The South Orange Democratic Committee responded to the scare by telling residents that casting a ballot successfully may take multiple attempts this year, framing the disruption as a test of civic resolve rather than a reason to stay home. The committee said the threat attempt only emphasizes the importance of every vote, and urged voters not to give up their right to vote because of threats and intimidation, according to the same NJ.com report.
The episode in Essex County lands amid a broader pattern of threats aimed at New Jersey polling places. Just last November, bomb threats temporarily disrupted voting in Paterson, Ewing and Bergen County, with additional threats reported across Ocean, Monmouth, Essex and Middlesex counties, as detailed by WRNJ Radio. That outlet also cited a Brennan Center survey showing 38% of local election officials have reported threats, harassment or abuse tied to their work, with roughly one in six saying they received threats of violence.
A Pattern Stretching Back to 2025 and Beyond
Multiple polling places in northern New Jersey temporarily closed in 2025 after precincts received emailed bomb threats that were later deemed not credible, according to ABC News. A judge in that episode allowed three polling sites in Paterson's Passaic County area to stay open until 9 p.m. so voters could still cast ballots after the earlier disruption, and authorities separately arrested a juvenile in connection with threats directed at a school polling location in North Brunswick. The New Jersey Department of State said at the time that law enforcement had determined there were no credible threats at several locations, though it remains unclear whether that same characterization applies to Saturday's threat at Turtle Back Zoo, which the sheriff's office was still investigating.
The threats aren't limited to New Jersey. In 2024, hoax bomb threats targeted at least 50 polling places and election sites across Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, according to NBC News. No bombs were found, and the delays had little overall effect on voting, though about 10 Georgia polling places stayed open an extra 40 minutes to make up for lost time. The FBI said threats in four of five affected states appeared to originate from Russian email domains, though that detail alone did not establish the threats actually came from Russia.
Officials Say They Have Been Preparing for Years
Election officials and law enforcement have been planning for scenarios like Saturday's for the last couple of years, per NBC News, reflecting a recognition that polling-place threats have become a recurring feature of recent election cycles rather than isolated incidents. The FBI has said it takes all threats of violence targeting election workers seriously, regardless of how the threat is conveyed, a stance reiterated in a public safety alert from the bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
In New Jersey, state lawmakers have been weighing their own responses to election-season security concerns. New Jersey State Democrats hoped to fast-track restrictions on federal law enforcement and military personnel at polling places this month, driven by concerns that the Trump administration could interfere in the midterm elections. That legislation was ultimately pulled after Governor Mikie Sherrill's office raised concerns it might not withstand a constitutional challenge, leaving the question of polling-place security protections unresolved heading into the rest of early voting.
For now, the investigation into what prompted Saturday's call remains open, and the Essex County Sheriff's Office has not released further details about the threat itself. The zoo's closure for the remainder of the day stood as the most visible disruption, even as voting resumed at the site within about an hour and a half of the initial call.
