NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The November election is less than a month away, and early voting starts in Connecticut, in just two weeks.
“If it doesn't smell right, it's probably not right,” said Joseph Altimari, acting special agent in charge of the criminal branch.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reminding the public to be aware of any suspicious activity or threats.
“Threats to election workers, threats to infrastructure, threats to the integrity of the process; that is something we are keenly aware of, and we talk almost on a daily basis with all of our external partners,” explained FBI New Haven operational supervisor Kevin Hughey.
FBI New Haven’s Acting Special Agent in Charge Anish Shukla says threats from foreign actors are of concern.
“It's very easy for somebody sitting on the other side of the globe to take a victim or have a victim here in Connecticut,” he explained.
Shukla says issues arise at home, too.
In September, the Secretary of the State’s Office intercepted an envelope at a mail center in West Hartford, matching the description of envelopes sent to other states containing white powder.
“The FBI takes every threat, whether it be elections or otherwise, seriously, and we will pursue all of them aggressively, within the bounds of federal law,” Shukla added. “We will address them case by case fully and if we need to with outside partners.”
The FBI says elections are a polarizing issue in the country and the increasing spread of mis- and disinformation isn’t helping, leading to voter suppression and disenfranchisement.
“Is the information about where an election, where you can vote is, is the place incorrect? Then we would be concerned, we would be interested. Is the time incorrect? That's where we're going to be also looking and then is the manner in which you can vote, you know, can you just vote by text message? That’s disinformation and misinformation that certainly would rise to the level of our interest in investigative response,” said Hughey.
Security officials say while some of this is reactive, they want the public to know they are training constantly and communicating with other law enforcement agencies.
“We have been working at this for years between all of the federal partners, all of the organizations that we have done, state, municipal, federal,” Hughey continued. “We have full confidence on our end that our partnerships and engagements are very, very strong and that the voters of Connecticut should also know that we work on this all the time and we will see this through. Election day is just the middle. We will see this through after election day as well.”
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Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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