(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, Attorney General William Tong, and Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronnell A. Higgins today held a news conference in Hartford to highlight the work Connecticut has done to strengthen election security, expand voting access, and prevent fraud.
“Last week, the president used primetime television to try to convince Americans that our elections can’t be trusted, and he did it without a shred of evidence,” Governor Lamont said. “Connecticut has spent its time building up our elections, and every vote here is backed by a paper ballot. That’s why our residents can vote with confidence.”
“Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democratic system, and every eligible voter should be able to cast their ballot without fear, intimidation, or interference,” Lt. Governor Bysiewicz said. “I’m proud to stand with a true team of individuals who have worked tirelessly to expand access to the ballot box while always ensuring that voting in our state is safe and secure. Today, and every day, we stand with leaders across the country who believe that no voter should ever feel threatened when exercising their constitutional right, and who believe that our democracy works best when every eligible voter participates, and when every vote is counted fairly.”
Connecticut recently invested $25 million to purchase new voting tabulators statewide, the state’s first equipment upgrade in 20 years. The funding was approved by the State Bond Commission in October 2023, and the new equipment rolled out beginning with the November 2025 election after independent testing by University of Connecticut researchers.
Legislation Governor Lamont signed in March 2026 further updated recount procedures, strengthened voter data protections, and expanded the secretary of the state’s authority to resolve election disputes. Independent auditors also hand count randomly selected precincts after every election to verify the results; a practice Secretary Thomas oversaw most recently following the November 2025 municipal election.
Additionally, the state has expanded early in-person voting and automatic voter registration, moved early ballots directly into tabulators, and set clearer standards for early voting and same-day registration.
“Voters don’t have to take our word for it—they can look at the people, the paper, and the proof,” Secretary Thomas said. “Our elections are run by trained local officials, every vote creates a paper record, and the results are checked through post-election audits. We preserve the evidence, check the count, and show our work.”
Connecticut is fighting back in court to protect and defend Connecticut’s free and fair elections and has secured multiple significant legal victories over the past several weeks. On Friday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Trump administration seeking to force Connecticut to share its statewide voter registration list. Friday’s win followed two prior court victories in June blocking unlawful executive orders issued by President Trump. On June 24, 2026, a federal judge granted a permanent injunction blocking President Trump’s March 25, 2025, executive order that attempted to force state election officials to impose documentary proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration, to force states to ignore mail ballots cast by Election Day but received by election officials just days afterward, and would have withheld various streams of federal funding from states that did not comply. On June 25, 2026, a federal judge blocked a second executive order from President Trump, issued on March 31, 2026, that sought to interfere with states’ constitutional authority to administer elections by restricting voter eligibility and voting-by-mail to lists of voters pre-authorized by the federal government.
“We are winning in court across numerous fronts to protect our democracy from the repeated demands of a president seeking to exert unlawful control over who can vote and how we cast our ballots,” Attorney General Tong said. “The Constitution is clear—the president does not control our elections, and he cannot micromanage and manipulate state election influence our free and fair elections. Despite the president’s anti-democratic efforts to sow chaos and confusion, Connecticut’s elections will remain fair, legal, transparent and accurate. Voters—not candidates—will determine the outcome.”
To prevent fraud, Connecticut has installed cameras at ballot drop boxes, tightened absentee ballot handling, and declined to hand over its complete voter file to the federal government, a demand a federal judge ruled was not authorized.
“The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection serves all residents of Connecticut with a clear mission to prepare, protect, and serve,” Commissioner Higgins said. “We train for any natural disaster or emergency. We are doing the same thing as we plan for any election day scenario. We drill and we prepare. Then we do it again.”
The Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and its Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security have coordinated Election Day security through the Election Security Working Group since early 2024, bringing together state, local, and federal agencies to plan for any scenario. Regional response teams stand ready on election day, and local police receive training on election law and de-escalation to keep every polling place safe.