As millions of voters head out to cast ballots for the White House and members of Congress, authorities across the country are quickly grappling with bomb threats, disinformation campaigns and technical problems keeping the polls open.

In Fulton County, Ga., officials said they received several bomb threats, including two that forced officials to briefly close polling places. Text messages sent to voters in Indiana claimed that their friends and family could see who people voted for. The FBI has warned that fake video clips are circulating online telling Americans to “vote remotely” because of the threat of terrorism.

Voting, which began days or weeks ago with mail-in ballots at most polling places across the country, continued smoothly Tuesday, according to reports. But some events reveal the reality of recent U.S. elections, where intelligence officials warned that foreign actors such as Russia and Iran sought to influence the results and undermine voter confidence, and that election officials face growing threats from an increasingly divided electorate.

In Georgia, a key battleground state for Democrats in 2020, authorities received five uncredible bomb threats Tuesday morning, including two that forced authorities to briefly close polling places, Fulton County Registration and Elections Director Nadine Williams said.

Etris-Darnell Senior Center and CH Gullatt Elementary School, both in Union City, were closed for approximately 30 minutes. Williams said officials are currently seeking a court order to keep the two stores open for an additional 30 minutes to make up for the time they were closed.

Officials stated that some of the bomb threats reported in many states originated from Russia.

Georgian Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed at a press conference that events in his state appear to be linked to Russia. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in an interview with CNN that bomb threats linked to Russian actors were also received there, but authorities were not deterred by those threats.

“Georgia will not be intimidated,” Raffensperger said. “Russia chose the wrong Georgia.”

In an unrelated incident, authorities also A 25-year-old poll worker was arrested in Georgia on Monday after he allegedly made a bomb threat to election workers.

Nicholas Wimbish allegedly had a verbal altercation with a voter on October 16 and later that evening sent a letter to the Jones County supervisor purporting to be from a “Jones County Voter.”

The letter claimed that Wimbish had “put me through hell” and that Wimbish, the actual author of the letter, had “distracted voters.” The letter threatened that workers should look over their shoulders, threatened to “rape” female workers, and threatened to leave a bomb at an early voting site.

And in Indiana, some voters reported receiving a text message telling voters that “voting records are public” and that their friends, neighbors and family will know who they voted for.

Records of who a person voted for are confidential. The mere fact that a ballot was cast is considered public information.

Indiana Democratic Party called the events “It’s nothing more than scaring voters.”

The incidents come as U.S. intelligence officials warn that foreign adversaries are continually trying to influence U.S. elections, fuel division and undermine confidence in them. These efforts are expected to increase in the coming days, officials said.

“These activities will intensify throughout election day and in the coming weeks, and foreign influence narratives will focus on swing states,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement. joint statement. “Influence actors, particularly those linked to Russia, are producing videos and fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instilling fear in voters about the electoral process and suggesting that Americans are using violence against each other because of political preferences.”

As voting continued, the FBI warned that its name and insignia were used in two fake news clips; one of which was the claim that the FBI was urging people to vote remotely due to terrorist threats.

A second video, featuring a fake FBI press release, also alleged that five prisons in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona rigged inmate votes and colluded with one of the political parties.

“This video is also not original and its content is incorrect,” the FBI said. expression. “Election integrity is among our highest priorities, and the FBI works closely with state and local law enforcement partners to respond to election threats and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote.”

Voter interference and influence campaigns have become a growing concern since the 2016 presidential election season.

According to a latest Gallup poll57% of Americans say they are confident that votes will be cast and counted accurately for the presidential election, but they also note that Republicans are becoming increasingly skeptical, with only 28% of Republicans believing in the integrity of the election.

Since losing the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump has cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process by claiming he lost the White House to President Biden due to voter fraud.

Multiple lawsuits challenging the results have been dismissed in states across the country.

Trump continued to sow doubt about this year’s election and continued to sow doubt on election day.

Addressing his campaign team from his headquarters in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, Trump questioned the computers used at polling places and the possibility of not announcing a winner Tuesday night.

In what is believed to be a tight race, the winner may not be immediately clear until all votes nationwide are counted.

“So, what are they doing?” It’s a little scary when they say that. Trump questioned why the results might not be known immediately. “You’ll watch to make sure there’s no cheating, right?”

These threats also bring about some technical problems that voting officials sometimes encounter during elections.

In Pennsylvania’s Cambria County, another battleground state, officials said a software glitch prevented some voters from scanning their ballots, causing confusion and long lines.

The polls were to close at 20:00, but Pennsylvania Department of State announced Court order allows polling places in Cambria County to remain open until 10 p.m.