Georgia county stations officers at all polling places after threats

Authorities in Cherokee County have placed officers at its 40 polling places just north of Atlanta following threats ahead of Georgia’s Senate runoff elections on Tuesday.

A number of county employees received a threatening email on Sunday “regarding threats to polling locations on election day,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The newspaper said employees in other Georgia counties received the same email.

The FBI and Georgia Bureau of Investigation are investigating the threats.

Joseph Cousin, the pastor at Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church in Woodstock, told the newspaper that the state’s Democratic Party canceled a “Women for Warnock” event at the church, a polling location, due to the threats.

Tensions are high in Georgia as voters in the Peach State cast ballots that will determine the balance of power in the Senate for the next two years.

Former Sen. David Perdue (R), whose term expired Sunday, is facing off against Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff, while Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) is competing against the Rev. Raphael Warnock (D). Polls show two tight races.

President-elect Joe Biden and President Trump visited the state on Monday to campaign for their parties’ contenders.

Trump’s appearance came just two days after he asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to “find” more votes in the presidential election to flip the state in his favor. Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee in decades to win Georgia, giving Democrats hope for the two runoff races.