Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked two bills for voting security on Thursday, citing their "partisan" nature as the reason for his decision. But according to Newsweek, McConnell received donations from four of the top United States voting machine lobbyists earlier this year, which some suggest influenced his vote.
The proposed plans would likely hinder the Election Systems & Software and Dominion Voting Systems with new burdens. The two companies comprise about 80 percent of the voting machines in the U.S. and have deep ties to many movers and shakers in Washington, D.C. — including McConnell.
Specifically, Sludge found that McConnell received $2,000 from David Cohen, $1,000 from Brian Wild, $1,000 from Emily Kirlin, and $1,000 from Jen Olson -- all of these people have lobbied on behalf of voting machine companies.
"It's not surprising to me that Mitch McConnell is receiving these campaign contributions," said Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice.
"He seems single-handedly to be standing in the way of anything passing in Congress around election security, and that includes things that the vendors might want, like money for the states to replace antiquated equipment."
"He is aiding and abetting [Russian President] Vladimir Putin's ongoing attempts to subvert American democracy, according to the Republican FBI, CIA, DNI, intel committee," he said. "All Republicans are all saying Russia is subverting American democracy and Moscow Mitch won't even let the Senate take a vote on it. That is un-American."
