Interference and voting issues in the 2024 election: Tracking incidents state-by-state

Incidents of voter interference have emerged in the run-up to Election Day 2024, which comes after the last two presidential elections were embroiled with accusations of interference.

The last few weeks of early voting have largely operated normally with a few isolated issues and officials say they are confident the election will be safe and fair.

Donald Trump's continued refusal to accept his loss in the 2020 election contributed to a groundswell of concerns about widespread election fraud that have been repeatedly disproven, but may still be at play in this election. While an October USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll found nearly 8 in 10 voters said they trust the vote count, that trust was higher among Kamala Harris supporters than Trump supporters.

Here is what we know about current claims of election interference, instances of violence and what officials have said about election security.

Live coverage of Election Day snags: Lawsuits, bomb threats and a Capitol arrest

Don't be fooled on Election Day: 6 false voting claims to look out for

National and international interference attempts and accusations

• U.S. intelligence officials said Russia has pushed out several fake videos in a disinformation campaign as it appears to try to help Trump win the election. One of the videos accused Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, of tipping off now-indicted music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs of a raid in exchange for a bribe.

• The Trump campaign accused Britain's ruling party of interference after the party acknowledged staff members were campaigning for Harris. Federal Election Commission rules state it is legal for foreign nationals to volunteer in U.S. elections so long as they are not compensated.

• Election officials and lawmakers are worried that U.S Postal Service delays could prevent thousands of ballots from being counted this year, in what could be an extremely close presidential contest. “Voters should never have to worry about if their ballot will be postmarked on time or if their ballot will reach their election center in time to be counted,” said Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio.

• The FBI has warned that fake videos claiming voters should “vote remotely” due to terrorist threats at polling places are circulating but are not authentic.

• Bomb threats were made to polling places in several states but they “appear to originate from Russian email domains,” and none have yet been found to be credible, according to the FBI.

Arizona: Voter registration ballots damaged

• In Maricopa County, Arizona, which encompasses Phoenix, 30,000 to 40,000 voter registration forms were returned damaged. Others were returned incomplete, but those people may be able to still cast a provisional ballot on Election Day. But some registration forms were damaged so badly that they were unable to be processed, and it may mean that those voters will not be able to cast a ballot.

Read more from the USA TODAY Network: Up to 40K damaged registration forms could leave some Maricopa County voters in limbo

Florida violence: Machete threat, assault against women aged 65+

• An 18-year-old Florida man was arrested on Oct. 29 after officials say he waved a machete at two women on the opposing political side. The local Democratic party said he arrived with a group waving Trump flags and the women were waving signs supporting Harris.

• A 17-year-old boy wearing a shirt with an image of Trump on it was arrested Saturday in Stuart, Florida after police say he allegedly punched a 70-year-old woman attending a rally in support of Harris.

Georgia: Video showing Haitian voting twice for Harris deemed false, Russian interference

• A viral video purported to show someone who claimed to be a recent immigrant from Haiti and a friend voting twice for Harris in Georgia. "Russian influence actors" were behind that video, according to a statement from U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

• After roughly 3,200 requested ballots were processed late, Cobb County, Georgia, has been ordered to continue accepting absentee ballots that are postmarked by 7 p.m. EDT on Election Day, Nov. 5, and arrive before 5 p.m. EDT on Nov. 8.

• A Georgia poll worker was arrested Monday after federal officials say he mailed threatening letters to the local county election superintendent.

• Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed Tuesday that the critical swing state was one of several targeted by bomb threats on Election Day that appear to be of Russian origin.

Iowa: Poll workers allowed to challenge ballots of those on flawed non-citizen list

• A federal judge sided with the state of Iowa Sunday and decided to allow Iowa poll workers to challenge ballots of more than 2,000 Iowa residents who were flagged as potential non-citizens, requiring them to go through extra steps in casting a provisional ballot.

Read more from the USA TODAY Network: Iowa can challenge ballots of 2,000 voters on flawed noncitizen list, judge says

Michigan warns non-citizens that voting records are public after rare incident

• A Chinese citizen studying at the University of Michigan, who has not been named by officials, is being charged after allegedly casting an irretrievable ballot illegally. The student registered to vote on Oct. 31 using identification from the school and signed a document testifying that he was a U.S. citizen, the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office told the Detroit News. Officials in Michigan have not said whether the vote has any ties to foreign election interference attempts. "Let this be clear: Voting records are public – any noncitizen who attempts to vote fraudulently in Michigan will be exposing themselves to great risk and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit said in a statement. "Noncitizen voting is an extremely isolated and rare event. Investigations in multiple states and nationwide have found no evidence of large numbers of noncitizens registering to vote. Even less common is a noncitizen actually casting a ballot."

Oregon: Officials say 3 ballots burned in arson incident

• Officials in Oregon and Washington say a suspected arsonist set fire to ballot collection boxes on Oct. 28. Portland police responded to a fire at a ballot box in the Buckman neighborhood in the early hours of the morning. The Portland fire damaged just three ballots thanks to a fire suppression system within the collection box. The New York Times and ABC News, citing anonymous sources, reported that a message reading "Free Gaza" appeared on the devices used in the arsons.

More on ballot box fires: Police reveal description of suspect, say more ballot box burnings possible

Pennsylvania: Ballot video deemed fake, Russian interference

• A viral video of mail-in ballots being destroyed in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a key battleground suburb, was created and amplified by Russian actors, U.S. officials said.

• An estimated 13,000 to 17,000 voters in Erie County, Pennsylvania did not receive absentee ballots. A state court ordered the local board of elections to issue new ballots and stay open for longer office hours to fulfill them.

• The Supreme Court Friday denied a Republican Party emergency request to block Pennsylvania from counting some provisional ballots if they fail to encase absentee ballots in the required secrecy sleeve.

• Thousands of absentee ballots in Pennsylvania are being challenged over questions about the eligibility of some overseas voters. Voting rights groups have condemned the movement, calling the challengers "election deniers."

• The Pennsylvania Department of State moved the end of voting in Cambria County to 10 p.m. on Election Day. The decision was made after software problems with the county's voting system prevented voters Tuesday morning from scanning their completed ballots. The polling places have had to move to paper ballots, which has resulted in long lines and many people leaving before casting their votes, the state reported.

Texas: Violence against poll worker

• During early voting, a Texas man was arrested after authorities say he assaulted a poll worker who asked him to take off his "Make America Great Again" hat due to electioneering laws.

Virginia: Eligible voters caught in late voter roll purge

• The Supreme Court allowed Virginia to continue to purge suspected noncitizens less than a week before the election. Voting rights activists said the purge list included eligible voting citizens.

• Although Virginia is considered a blue state in presidential elections, Republicans run the election operations in the state and at least one county is already arguing it shouldn't have to certify the election results.

More on Virginia: As a blue state with Republican power over elections, Virginia draws GOP attention

Washington officials say at least 6 out of 500 damaged ballots unidentifiable

• Police in Oregon-neighboring Vancouver, Washington responded to another arson at a ballot box shortly after the incident in Portland. The fire in Vancouver damaged almost 500 ballots when its fire suppression system failed. Election officials are sending new ballots to the voters impacted, but about six couldn't be identified and others may have been burned up entirely, they said.

Contributing: Bethany Rodgers, Thao Nguyen, Riley Beggin, Zac Anderson, Sasha Hupka, Bart Jansen, Wicker Perlis, Susan Page, Sudiksha Kochi, Maya Marchel Hoff, Stephen Gruber-Miller, Maureen Groppe, Erin Mansfield, Sarah D. Wire, Lyra Bordelon, Aysha Bagchi, Fernando Cervantes Jr., John Bacon, Josh Meyer, Kim Hjelmgaard; USA TODAY Network; Patrick O'Shea, Somerset Daily American

Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected], and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Voter interference and issues in 2024 election: Latest incidents