More than half of Minnesota counties have received bomb threats

(MPR) – Election offices in more than half of the state’s counties have received emailed bomb threats since Nov. 8, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.

“Threats of violence against election workers, aimed at disrupting our democracy, are absolutely unacceptable,” said Secretary of State Steve Simon in a statement.

He said his office is coordinating with local, state and federal officials to respond.

Though Election Day was more than a week ago, election workers are still working to canvass and certify election results. Some counties are also likely to conduct recounts for close races in the coming weeks. This kind of work is normal and is following a similar timeline as past elections.

Officials did not provide more detail on the origin of the threats in Minnesota.

On Election Day, the FBI reported several noncredible bomb threats to polling places across the country linked to Russian email domains. They caused evacuations and extended hours for some locations.

Overall, election officials in Minnesota and the rest of the nation reported relatively few problems in administering this year’s election.

In Minnesota, Sherburne County is paying for a recount after an issue with a memory card delayed results from a small number of mail-in ballots. And in Minneapolis, a halfway house wrongly told newly eligible voters that they could not cast ballots. The information was quickly corrected and they were able to vote.