Bomb Threats Shut Toledo Polling Site; Voting Extended to 9:15 PM After K-9 Sweep

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TOLEDO — Two bomb threats called in around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday forced the evacuation of Beverly Elementary School, which was serving as a Toledo polling location, disrupting voting on Election Day.

The building was evacuated and a K-9 sweep found nothing; the site was cleared around 12:15 p.m. and voting resumed inside, according to 13abc. The closure lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes, Lucas County Board of Elections Deputy Director Tim Monaco said — correcting earlier reports that voting was disrupted for roughly two hours.

A judge extended voting at Beverly until 9:15 p.m., but only by provisional ballot. Under Ohio rules, only a judge can extend voting past 7:30 p.m., and voters who cast ballots after the regular close must vote provisionally, Ohio Secretary of State spokesperson Dan Lusheck said, per the Columbus Dispatch live blog.

The board of elections brought extra voting machines outside so voting could continue outdoors during the evacuation, WTOL reported.

At least four other area schools received threats the same morning — Monac Elementary in Toledo, Conneaut and Kenwood elementary schools in Bowling Green, and Lake Local schools — though none was a polling site. All were cleared, according to USA Today.

Voting-machine issues in Lucas and Wood counties were also resolved by midday.

Officials deemed the threats not credible after the K-9 sweep; the investigation is ongoing and no attribution has been made.

Photo: Funknendai / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Lucas County Board of Elections statement on the Beverly Elementary threats (Facebook)

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