As He Blocks Election Security Bills, McConnell Takes Checks from Voting Machine Lobbyists

The bills McConnell is blocking would subject the voting machine vendors to new cybersecurity regulations and could reduce their overall sales to states.

PUBLISHED ON

JUN 10, 2019 4:56PM EDT

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has reportedly told his colleagues that

he will not allow the Senate to vote on election security legislation this session.

The two largest voting machine vendors in the U.S., Election Systems & Software (ES&S) and Dominion Voting Systems, together supply more than 80% of the nation’s voting machines. The companies have operated extensive lobbying operations in states for years, and both companies recently hired new lobbyists to represent them at the federal level.

Dominion Voting Systems, which was recently acquired by New York-based hedge fund Staple Street Capital

Signed its first-ever federal lobbying contract in January 2019 with Brownstein Hyatt Farber and Schreck and has paid the company at least $30,000 so far to lobby Congress.

Several of the lobbyists working for ES&S and Dominion Voting Systems have recently made contributions to McConnell’s campaign and joint fundraising committee.

https://readsludge.com/2019/06/10/as-he-blocks-election-security-bills-mcconnell-takes-checks-from-voting-machine-lobbyists/