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Update, May 20: This story was updated with additional comments from the state police.
An explosive device went off near a polling place in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday morning, as voters cast ballots in primary elections for a competitive congressional seat and other offices.
No one was injured and voting was not interrupted, county officials say.
“It was an isolated incident from everything we can determine,” Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel said, adding that the county did not receive any threats and that only one polling place was impacted.
According to state police, around 9 a.m. an unidentified individual threw an “unknown explosive device” from a vehicle near the United Church of Christ polling location in Catasauqua, a suburb of Allentown, WFMZ reported.
The polling place is part of Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, where Democrats have a competitive primary to nominate a candidate to face Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie in the fall. Political analysts view Mackenzie as one of the most vulnerable Republican representatives in the country.
Siegel said one vehicle was partly destroyed by the explosive, and while it initially seems that the polling place was not the target, the investigation is ongoing and little is known at this point.
“It’s being treated very seriously,” he said. “We’re not taking any chances.”
Local, state, and federal law enforcement are investigating. WFMZ has reported that state police said there was no information that indicated the incident was related to the polling place.
That said, it’s not uncommon for polling places to be the target of bomb threats. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, there were at least 227 bomb threats against the November 2024 election, including several in Pennsylvania. Most were deemed to be noncredible, although in the run-up to the election, incendiary devices were used in multiple attempts to set fire to ballot drop boxes.
Counties coordinate with state and federal officials well before Election Day to monitor such threats and have plans in place to mitigate any disruptions.
Sean Drasher, the Lebanon County election director, said he works with his county’s emergency preparedness department to plan for everything and anything that could go wrong on Election Day, including bomb threats or active shooters.
His county has materials gathered ahead of time so that, in the event of a serious emergency, they can deploy a pop-up polling place so that voting can continue.
“We can set people up under a tent if we have to,” he said.
Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday morning there were no updates at this time and they will release more information as it becomes available. Anyone with information is asked to contact PSP Bethlehem at 610-861-2026.
Carter Walker is a reporter for Votebeat in partnership with Spotlight PA. Contact Carter at cwalker@votebeat.org.
