Bomb Threat Temporarily Shuts Down Louisiana Polling Station

KENNER, La. (KPEL News) - A Kenner school that is serving as a polling location for election day was shut down after a bomb threat, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin confirmed Tuesday.

Kenner police reported Tuesday morning that a bomb threat was called into Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy. The polling station was shut down while law enforcement investigated the scene.

Ardoin was in communication with local election officials during the brief crisis, and the polling location was moved elsewhere.

“I am exceedingly grateful to Kenner Chief of Police Keith Conley and Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto for their prompt response and thorough investigation, which appears to show that this was never targeted toward voters or election workers. I also applaud our department’s elections staff and Jefferson Parish Clerk of Court Jon Gegenheimer for this quick response to move the location and inform voters of the emergency move,” Ardoin said in a statement.

The polling location was moved to nearby Audubon Elementary School. Local officials determined that the threat was related to the school and not the election, meaning that election officials were safe.

Election Day Update

After the Secretary of State's office acknowledged a technical issue with the Geaux Vote website and app, they were able to pinpoint the problem and get it working. Originally this morning, the site was down and voters were unable to access important information, like their voter registration, the location of their precinct polling station, and more.

There are several key elections on the ballot, including a U.S. Senate race and U.S. House races. There are also eight constitutional amendments on the ballot. You can find out more about those here.

There are currently no reported polling station issues in Lafayette Parish.