Toledo judge orders 9:15 p.m. voting cutoff after two-hour bomb threat closure

Judge Ken Walz extended the voting window at Beverly Elementary in Toledo to 9:15 p.m. Tuesday evening, allowing residents assigned to that location to cast provisional ballots.

The decision followed a lawsuit filed by election protection attorneys seeking to remedy a disruption at the polling site. The school closed just before 10:50 a.m. Tuesday when a bomb threat prompted an evacuation of poll workers and voters.

The Lucas County Board of Elections confirmed that law enforcement cleared the scene quickly and that voting resumed shortly after noon. The board stated that all personnel and voters were safely evacuated during the nearly two-hour shutdown.

The extension applies specifically to the Beverly Elementary location, which served as a polling place on Election Day. The ruling ensures that voters who missed the standard deadline due to the closure can still submit their ballots before the new cutoff.

Five other schools in the region received threats on Tuesday, including Conneaut Elementary and Kenwood Elementary in Bowling Green, Monac Elementary in Toledo, Defiance City Schools, and Lake Local Schools. Local police swept these buildings, and students and staff returned after officials deemed the sites safe.

The legal action was initiated immediately after the initial closure to preserve the voting rights of those affected by the temporary shutdown.