Shortly before the polling stations closed in the swing state of Pennsylvania, the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed that irregularities had occurred. There is "a lot of talk about massive FRAUD in Philadelphia", he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, without providing any evidence.
Philadelphia's District Attorney Larry Krasner rejects the allegations.
"There is no basis whatsoever within the judiciary for this outrageous claim", Krasner says according to AP.
Even Seth Bluestein, a Republican member of Philadelphia's election commission, asserts that there is no truth to Trump's claim.
"It's another example of disinformation. Voting in this city is secure and takes place correctly", he writes on social media.
Evacuations after bomb threats
Trump has also made unfounded claims about irregularities and heavy police presence in Detroit and Milwaukee, the largest cities in the swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin. The authorities have also rejected the allegations there. No one other than Trump has flagged any incidents with greater impact on the election.
Bomb threats against polling stations in Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania had previously been reported, according to AP. The threats were quickly found to be false, but led to evacuations and in some cases extended opening hours.
Polling stations in Pennsylvania have also received bomb threats. Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro quickly went out and assured the public that the threats do not pose a danger to either the voters or the election.
Cyrillic letters
According to the US federal police FBI, many of the bomb threats appear to originate from Russian email domains. Georgia's election official, Republican Brad Raffensperger, says according to AP that the bomb threats against the state's polling stations were issued online and included Cyrillic letters.
Aside from isolated reports of problems that often occur during American elections – including long queues and technical problems – the election has otherwise proceeded without major issues, writes AP.
Trump, who has questioned the 2020 election result when Joe Biden won, says that a "fair election" is a prerequisite for him to concede defeat.
If I lose an election, if it's a fair election, I'll be the first to concede it.
