Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill stands by her office’s ability to protect voters’ access to polling centers.
State leaders around the country are facing more inquiries into potential voter suppression and fraud in local and national elections.
But Merrill says Connecticut voters can trust the election system despite voter fraud claims present in national headlines. Her office has regular audits to detect voter fraud.
“People are already pretty cynical about politics and government, and this is just fueling that fire, and I am afraid that it will make people worry even more that democracy isn’t fair, that votes aren’t going to be counted properly, there is some kind of nefarious thing going on.”
Merrill said Connecticut saw enthusiasm in the 2018 midterm elections, and that’s a good sign in a “healthy democracy.”
“We had more people register to vote than ever before, resulting in there being an all-time high of 2,180,000 registered voters by the time the election rolled around.”