Bomb Threats Empty Toledo Polling Place for Two Hours on Election Day

Two bomb threats phoned in on Tuesday morning forced the evacuation of a Toledo, Ohio polling place for about two hours on Election Day, interrupting voting at Beverly Elementary School before police cleared the building and let voters back in.

The first call reached the school at about 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, Toledo Public Schools spokeswoman Patty Mazur told USA TODAY. A second call came minutes later, while the first call was still being reported to police. Officers evacuated voters, poll workers and school staff, swept the inside and outside of the building, and walked a police dog through the school. They found nothing. The building reopened just after noon, and the Columbus Dispatch, citing WTOL, reported that police cleared the school at about 12:15 p.m. and voting resumed inside.

What happened outside the school

About 40 people waited outside during the sweep, an election protection poll monitor told WTOL. Lucas County Board of Elections Director LaVera Scott said at first that extra voting machines would be brought in so people could vote outside, 13abc reported. Staff collected names and phone numbers from voters who had been turned away. No students were in class anywhere in the district on Tuesday. School staff were in the building for a training day, alongside poll workers and voters.

Beverly Elementary was not the only school hit. A second threat was called in at about 10:39 a.m. at Monac Elementary School, and that building was evacuated as well, WTOL reported. In nearby Wood County, Conneaut Elementary and Kenwood Elementary in Bowling Green received threatening calls and were evacuated as a precaution, and a threat was also reported at Lake Local Schools. None of the Bowling Green or Lake Local buildings is a polling site.

What officials say

Toledo Police Sergeant Mohamad Nasser said the Northwest Ohio Bomb Squad was notified and bomb detection dogs were requested to search the sites, according to WTOL. Police have not said whether the threats are connected, and no arrest had been announced by early Tuesday afternoon.

Why it matters

The evacuation landed in one of Ohio's most watched House races. Toledo voters are deciding the 9th Congressional District contest between Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur and Republican Derek Merrin, USA TODAY reported. A polling place that closes for two hours on Election Day tests the backup plans election officials keep for exactly this kind of disruption: paper ballots, spare machines, and a way to track voters who leave and need to come back.

Ohio polls stay open until 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and anyone in line at that time can still vote. Voters in Lucas County who were turned away from Beverly Elementary can return to the school or check their polling place with the Lucas County Board of Elections.