Congress has approved $425 million for states to enhance election technology and make election security improvements.  Secretary of the State Denise Merrill says the funding will arrive in time for the 2020 election.  While she doesn't know the exact amount, Merrill expects to receive about $5 million. 

Merrill noted that a month ago, Secretaries of the State were informed by intelligence agencies, the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Homeland Security and Attorney General that foreign adversaries were again trying to attack election infrastructure.  She called it an unprecedented announcement and a clear warning. 

Previous federal grants have supported Connecticut purchasing new voting equipment, security enhancements and training for officials, nationally-recognized auditing procedures, and improvements to voting accessibility. 

Merrill plans to launch a new campaign called Trusted Info 2020.  It's aimed at letting people know their vote will be counted accurately so they can have faith in the system.  Her office will be creating posters and taking other steps to make sure people know if they have questions, there's a place to find accurate information. 

Senator Blumenthal advocated for not only more funding, but also has helped lead the fight for more funding for voting systems, has helped lead several measures to protect the integrity of our elections, and hold accountable anyone who attempts to interfere in our democratic process. These measures include legislation that would make it a federal crime to hack any voting system used in a federal election, create a duty to report attempts by a foreign agent to interfere in an election, require federal cybersecurity standards for voting systems, and provide states with funding to strengthen election cyber defenses.