Connecticut Tried to Hack Its New Voting Machines Before Buying Them. Here's What Happened.

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10/22/2026

As national claims about voting machine securityresurface, Secretary Thomas explains why voters can have confidence in tabulatorresults

(Hartford, Connecticut) — In the 2012–2018 hit TV show Scandal, created and produced by Connecticut resident Shonda Rhimes, voting tabulators are rigged to help ensure that character Fitzgerald "Fitz" Grant is elected U.S. president.

Recently revived claims from the White House that foreign-made components in voting machines present a national security risk and could lead to tabulators being hacked this election have resurfaced in the news.

But Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas is among top U.S. election officials assuring the public that, just like Scandal, that story is fiction. And she has a compelling story to share about why Connecticut voters can be confident their votes will be counted accurately.

In 2024, as Connecticut prepared to invest $20 million to replace voting equipment that had been in use for nearly two decades, Secretary Thomas and other state election officials wanted to be sure the equipment they were considering could withstand attempts to compromise its security.

So, Secretary Thomas said, they enlisted researchers from UConn's Voting Technology Research (VoTeR) Center to try to hack the tabulators made by the companies competing for the contract.

Known as white-hat hacking, the practice involves authorized attempts to breach computer systems to uncover weaknesses before malicious actors can exploit them.

As part of the process, UConn researchers also examined the procedures used to prepare and operate the equipment, looking for potential vulnerabilities that could affect election security.

Dr. Alexander Russell, director of UConn's VoTeR Center, said researchers spent days attempting to expose vulnerabilities before giving high marks in both hardware and software to the voting equipment manufactured by Election Systems & Software (ES&S).

The result was approximately 2,500 new ES&S tabulators rolled out across the state in time for the 2025 Municipal Election.

"When someone casts a ballot, they should be able to walk out of their polling place confident that their vote will be counted accurately and securely," said Secretary Thomas. "That's a responsibility we take seriously, and it's why we went to such lengths to evaluate the equipment before purchasing it. Voters deserve that peace of mind."

And Connecticut's efforts to protect that confidence don't end with the testing conducted before the machines were purchased. Several additional safeguards are built into the state's voting process, beginning with the tabulators themselves.

Connecticut's tabulators are not connected to the internet, which means no one can remotely access them to alter vote totals.

And while the tabulators themselves were updated, Connecticut continues to use paper ballots that voters mark by hand.

Those paper ballots provide a physical record of each vote, independent of the electronic tabulation. They are preserved and can be examined during recounts and post-election audits to verify that the machines counted votes accurately.

However, like many electronic products manufactured in the United States, voting tabulators contain components made in other countries, including China. Manufacturers such as ES&S rely on foreign suppliers for certain electronic parts because those components are not currently produced in the United States.

While the use of foreign-made components has raised concerns about potential security vulnerabilities, their presence does not mean that voting equipment has been compromised or that votes can be changed remotely.

Connecticut's election security measures also extend well beyond the equipment itself.

Before each election, local election officials conduct public logic and accuracy testing to verify that tabulators are reading and counting ballots correctly. Election officials also follow established procedures governing the preparation, storage, transportation and handling of voting equipment and ballots.

After elections, Connecticut conducts post-election audits, comparing electronic results with the paper ballots voters marked. These independent checks provide an additional opportunity to identify discrepancies and verify the accuracy of election results.

"Election security isn't something we think about just on Election Day. It's a responsibility we take seriously 365 days a year," Secretary Thomas said. "And it's not one safeguard that protects your vote. It's dozens working together. Scandal made for great television, but it's not a reflection of how Connecticut's elections work.”

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Contact: Matthew Clyburn
Matthew.Clyburn@CT.gov
(959) 274-6725

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