Florida Bomb Squad Detonates ‘Suspicious Packages’ Discovered Outside Early Voting Site

A bomb squad in Florida detonated a pair of suspicious packages that were placed outside one of the state’s early voting sites early Saturday morning.

Voting at the station was suspended until 2 pm on Saturday, which was the final day of early voting in the state, reports Yahoo! News. There was a long line at the station filled with voters who were upset about the delay.

Voting early has been popular in the 2012 election, whether by absentee ballot or in person. It has been especially popular in Florida, where almost 3.9 million votes have already been cast before Tuesday’s official Election Day.

The Orange County, Florida Bomb Squad stated that the main object they were worried about was a cooler with a USB cord sticking out from its side. It was first spotted by a voter who was outside the Winter Park Library on Saturday morning. A “suspicious garbage bag” was also detonated by authorities. The cooler was filled with small electronic devices, according to WFTV.

The library was evacuated after the cooler and garbage bag were found. While US Senator Bill Nelson has requested that Governor Rick Scott issue an emergency order to extend early voting until Sunday. Nelson wrote in a letter to Scott:

“You should be doing everything in your power to make sure everybody has the chance to vote, and that their vote is counted. Instead, Gov. Scott, you are allowing people to be turned away and jeopardizing the credibility of Florida’s election.”

Scott has rejected similar requests in the past and has yet to respond to Nelson’s, which was sent in light of the bomb scare at the early voting station.