UNCLASSIFIED // FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED // FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY 1 Election Day 2020 November 3, 2020 New York State Poll Times: 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Information Cutoff Date: October 22, 2020 EVENT DETAILS Election Day will take place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020; in - person polling locations will be open throughout New Yo rk State between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Early in - person voting will take place at multiple designated locations throughout the state beginning on Saturday, October 24. This year, the number of New Yorkers voting at each polling location may be reduced due to the COVID - 19 pandemic and the increased availability and awareness of absentee ballots. However, nationwide reports of high voter enthusiasm and elevated turnout could bolster on - site participation. The NYPD Intelligence Bureau (IB) assesses that there is no current, credible, or specific threat to this year’s election. EVENT ASSESSMENT The NYPD IB assesses that police officers assigned to polling locations — at 88 early voting sites and 1,201 sites on November 3 citywide — should prepare for and remain vigilant against potential election - related disruptions and violence on Election Day. The current tense political climate and overall trends in the domestic terrorism threat environment indicate elevated risk of disturbances, especially in proximity to polling locations and United States Postal Service (USPS) sites. Such disturbances may includ e intimidating voters, blocking voters from casting ballots, or violent activity. In October 2020, law enforcement authorities arrested 14 people responsible for an alleged domestic terrorism plot to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. The planned attack, which involved several complex tactical elements including pre - operational hostile surveillance and a group of militia extremists, was timed to take place before the U.S. Presidential Election. In preparation for the upcoming election, Michigan Sec retary of State Jocelyn Benson recently announced a ban on open carry firearms at and near voting sites. Several other states, including New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Event Threat Assessment October 23, 2 0 20 Election - Related Cyber Threats The NYPD IB assesses that cyber attacks — from influence operations to exploitation of information acquired from previously infiltrated election systems — carried out by foreign actors and cyber criminals will likely continue and may potentially impact election activities. However, the majority of cyber attacks against state and local government infrastructure are not targeting election - related systems and are often opportunistic and financially motivated. The NYPD is supporting efforts to ensure that election operations conducted on computer systems are safe, maintaining a cyber command post and working with NYC Cyber Command and the FBI Cyber Division. T he election process is potentially vulnerable to interference on multiple f ronts, including malicious actors accessing voter registration data or tampering with voting methods, such as mail - in and electronic voting. Disinformation campaigns on social media and other platforms could also affect the election, weakening voters’ conf idence in the electoral process or suppressing votes through cyber - enabled tactics like intimidating voters with general threats or providing incorrect information on how to vote – a potentially significant tactic during the COVID - 19 pandemic. On October 21 , the Director of Nationa l Intelligence and FBI Director confirmed that both Iran and Russia have obtained U.S. voter registration data in an effort to interfere in the 2020 U S presidential election, and that Iranian malicious actors were behind a rece nt wave of emails posing as the Proud Boys which threatened recipients in several states to vote for a specific candidate. UNCLASSIFIED // FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED // FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY 2 California, have issued official statements about election security in recent weeks warni ng of anticipated harassment, intimidation, and disturbances at polling sites. In recent weeks, numerous racially and ethnically motivated violent extremist (REMVE) groups encouraged supporters online and at rallies to make an organized effort to intimidat e voters, specifically by establishing a menacing presence through the exploitation of poll watching, which has also been encouraged by some high - profile officials. Poll watchers operate under strict legal rules that vary by state. In most states, both par ties are permitted to have trained representatives observe the voting process, relay information back to their parties, and watch for irregularities. Poll watchers are not permitted to directly interfere with voting and must report issues through official channels. The recent combination of extremist conspiracy theories, militia activity, and civil unrest may be perceived as a threat to voters on opposing sides of the political spectrum. On October 15 , an online neo - Nazi messaging channel, which has over 5 ,000 subscribers, reposted a link from another messaging channel that encouraged individuals to sign up to recruit supporters as election poll watchers. Extremists continue to develop new content and utilize a wide array of existing digital content to incite violence, despite increasing efforts in recent months by several social media platforms to update their policies as part of an effort to take firmer action against accounts associated with users and automated bots who seek to spread disinformation, promote hate speech, and engage in harassment online. On October 13 , Twitter suspended over two dozen accounts that had generated over 265,000 Tweets purporting to be owned by black supporters of a U.S. candidate for President. Some of the accounts used ph otos of black men that had appeared in news articles, and many of the tweets followed the same template, suggesting their inauthenticity. Similar disinformation campaigns occurred in the 2016 Presidential Election, where fake accounts, the majority of whic h were based in Russia, spread disinformation for the purpose of creating discord on social media, which at times extended into real world clashes. On October 2 , a neo - Nazi messaging channel posted a statement celebrating the end of voting and large politi cal gatherings, declaring, “good riddance to the ballot box and massive political rallies,” that it leads followers to “violently express their will to power...in the way of our ancestors: Total War.” The white supremacist statement, received 5,000 views, an d encouraged supporters to “be men” and “take direction action.” In recent months, the U.S. has experienced elevated political tensions amid a heightened domestic terrorism threat environment that are often marked by clashes between protestors on one side of an issue and counter - protestors on the other. Initially sparked by the police - involved killing of George Floyd in Minnesota that resulted in widespread protest activity across the country, several other high - profile incidents have added to the general state of civil unrest, which has been exploited by malicious actors across the ideological extremist spectrum to commit acts of violence. The potential for a protracted and/or contested election outcome elevates the threat environment for similar opportuni stic acts of violence. In August, after the police - involved shooting of Jacob Blake, contentious demonstrations erupted in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Accounts of looting reportedly motivated Kyle Rittenhouse, an Illinois resident and alleged militia member, to tr avel with a rifle to defend property in Kenosha. Rittenhouse, allegedly shot three protestors, two of them fatally. Several nights later, a caravan of supporters of President Trump drove through Portland, Oregon, and fired paintballs and pepper spray into a crowd of anti - police - brutality protestors. Reportedly as a result, Michael Reinoehl, a far - left Antifa supporter, allegedly shot and killed far - right supporter and Patriot Prayer member Aaron J. Danielson. The profiles of both Rittenhouse and Reinoehl ha ve been elevated as exemplars by malicious actors on the far - right and far - left side s of the ideological violent extremist spectrum in the aftermath of both shootings. On October 6 , on a social media page affiliated with the far - right Three Percenters move ment, a user claimed to have acquired Black Lives Matter (BLM) posters that threatened to burn down San Jose, California, if a certain presidential candidate did not win the election. The user claimed to have insider knowledge that a political party was pa ying the far - left to target infrastructure and burn cities between October 31 and November 11 . Facebook users responded to the exploitative disinformation with death threats against the alleged far - left protestors. UNCLASSIFIED // FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED // FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY 3 On 17 September, an FBI official announce d that domestic terrorism threats are increasing across the country. Within in the first six months of 2020, 55 domestic terrorism arrests and 35 international terrorism arrests reportedly took place across the U.S. The majority of the threats were reporte dly linked to anti - government and race - based hate. The FBI has also observed engagement between Russia - and China - based individuals with racially motivated violent extremists in the U.S. Last month the FBI also warned of active Russian influence on the 2020 Presidential Election, the rise of racially motivated violent extremism, and ongoing efforts “spread disinformation” in order to “both sow divisiveness and discord.” SOURCES Early Voting Information . Board of Elections in the City of New York. 23 October 2020. Early Voting and Absentee Voting by Mail or Dropbox . New York State. 23 October 2020. Election Help Desk - Navigating 2020 Election Changes - Poll Closing Times by State . BallotPedia. 23 October 2020. Feds Say Russia and Iran have Interfered with the Presidential Election . CNN. 21 October 2020. General Election - Voter Intimidation; Prohibited Voter Challenges . California Secretary of State. 6 October 2020. Neo - Nazi and Proud Boy Groups Push Trump Campaign Poll Watching Operation Online - Reports . ABC News. 16 October 2020. Twitter Suspends Accounts Claiming to Be Black Trump Supporters . BBC News. 14 October 2020. If You See Something, Say Something – 1 - 888 - NYC - SAFE (1 - 888 - 692 - 7233)