The state of Connecticut is hardening its voting systems against potential cybersecurity threats. The Secretary of the State’s office has decided how to allocate $5 million in federal funds on election security.
Of that, $1 million will be used to buy up-to-date optical scanning machines to replace some of those currently being used that Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said are now 15 years old.
The rest of money will go to protecting municipal infrastructure -- updating software and hardware, and putting in place more password protections.
The state will also send out regional election monitors to provide training for local registrars.
At a press conference Monday Merrill said transparency is vital.
“We have to fight against the perception that our elections are rigged, because that leads to even fewer people voting," she said. "Every potential voter in this state should know we are taking steps to ensure that our election infrastructure cannot be affected by foreign actors. In Connecticut every vote cast will be a vote counted.”
Connecticut is one of 21 states known to have been targeted by Russian hacking attempts in the 2016 election.
