Secretary of State campaigns on election security message in Salisbury

SALISBURY – Connecticut Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas, who recently secured the Democratic endorsement for reelection, spoke Tuesday, May 19, at a meeting of the Salisbury Democratic Town Committee.

Thomas centered her remarks around what she describes as ongoing threats to the country’s election system, describing the past year and half as “crazy.”

She said the administration in Washington, D.C., has sought to alter voting procedures, but said resistance from states has been growing, with many filing lawsuits.

“Thirty states have refused the request to turn over their voting rolls,” Thomas said. “All the cases have been lost by the Department of Justice.”

She also discussed one of President Donald Trump' s executive orders, which she said could give the United States Postal Service a role in determining the eligibility for mail-in voting and allow postal workers to reject ballots from voters not included on newly created federal voter lists.

“That is still in court, and most are being stopped by injunctions,” she said.

Thomas also addressed what she described as threats by the current administration to deploy federal agents to polling locations to oversee elections.

Thankfully, she said, there is bipartisan pushback against the idea across the country.

Thomas said she is equally concerned about what she describes as the gutting of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

She said the cuts end funding for the system that alerts state officials of election security threats across state lines. Connecticut, she said, may ultimately have to pay for voter security measures itself.

The administration also stopped funding the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or EI-ISAC, which alerts state officials to active election threats in other states.

Noting she often hears how lucky people in Connecticut are, Thomas pointed to legislation signed that day – May 19 – by Gov. Ned Lamont enacting a no-excuse absentee ballot law. Voters will no longer need to meet one of the six limited requirements to obtain such a ballot.

Asked about early voting schedules for the November election, Thomas said there will be no changes from last year, though tabulators will now be allowed for those ballots.

In traveling across the state to discuss her role, she often focuses on such topics as business fraud and labor trafficking. Thomas said she enjoys speaking at schools, but lamented that her office has no funding for voter education.

Thomas was raised in New Jersey in affordable housing, and said she recalls times when her home was dark because the electricity was shut off. She worked hard at her studies and was given a scholarship to attend New York University.

Most of her career has been spent in the nonprofit sector as a way of giving back. Although politics was not an aspiration, listening to the Trump and Hillary Clinton debates spurred her interest.

After moving to Norwalk, Conn., Thomas saw there were eight representatives in the area running unopposed. Feeling voters deserved a choice, she launched an unsuccessful 2018 bid for state representative in the 143rd district, running again successfully in 2020. When former Secretary of State Denise Merrill announced she was not seeking re-election in 2022, Thomas threw her hat into the ring.

“It was the best job I ever had until January 2025,” she said, alluding to the official start of the second Trump administration. “It’s been difficult.”