HARTFORD, Conn. — Election Day is only two weeks away and on this Turnout Tuesday, Secretary of the State, Mark Kohler, wants voters to know that the state's election process is secure.
"When I talk to friends about this, one of the things that I tell them is just how amazed I am at what a great job this office and others do on election security," Kohler said.
Here in Connecticut, there are many steps happening behind the scenes to keep things confidential.
Kohler said the state has partnerships with federal and state cybersecurity and law enforcement agencies. They also work with the University of Connecticut to test the equipment used during elections. Before and after the election, a tech team reviews and examines the voting equipment to make sure it's intact.
Then, there's training. Connecticut has called on the national guard and its cyber security experts to train local election officials on things to look out for. On top of that, there's separate training done for those officials on the state level, which happens regularly.
In terms of how ballots are cast and kept? It's all done on paper which, according to Kohler, is the most secure way to run an election.
"One of the best checks and balances that we have is that there are registrars from both parties. So, there's a built-in system of checks where it's going to be really hard for one party or one group to do something that the other side isn't going to be aware of," Kohler said.
In terms of election security, one point of contention in recent years has dealt with absentee ballots. Kohler said that process is secure, too.
"The actual ballots themselves are very secure. The issue with absentee ballots tends to be more around people who have gone and helped you with the application, or help you fill them out. And that's where some problems can happen. But the actual level of fraud where someone is attempting to use someone else's ballot, or someone who's not the voter is putting in a ballot. That is extremely rare," Kohler said.
If there is a mistake when filling out the ballots, registrars are trained to catch it and fix it.
"I can just say, from, from my own observation and experience, that we do a really good job of maintaining the integrity and administering the security of these elections. And I personally feel completely safe and secure in voting," Kohler said.
Kohler also wants voters to know about a question that will appear on the ballot next month. It will read:
"Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting?"
The Constitution says that in-person voting has to take place on a specific day. The vote is calling for a change to that wording to allow for more than just one day of voting.
"This amendment will simply allow the legislature to enact some new laws to allow for people to go for some period of time prior to Election Day and vote in person," Kohler said.
Kohler said to be on the lookout for this question, and your local election officials will likely point it out to you before casting your ballot.
"That's the important thing. Look for it. Because very often, the number of votes for candidates is higher than the number of votes that there might be on a ballot question. So I just encourage people to look for it. We will have posters in the polling places that remind people that it's there. And we're trying to get the message out that that ballot question is there because it is important, that constitutional question," Kohler said.
For any further questions, head to the CT voter fact sheet link.
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Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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