evidence: MAY 2019: RULES COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN AND MEMBER OF MCCONNELL LEADERSHIP TEAM CONFIRMS MCCONNELL BLOCKING ELECTION SECURITY LEGISLATION [...] JULY 2019: SENATOR MCCONNELL BLOCKS TWO ELECTION SECURITY BILLS CBS News: Mitch Mcconnell Blocks Election Security Legislation. "Hours after former special counsel Robert Mueller testified Wednesday that Russians are still meddling in the U.S. political system, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the advancement of legislation to secure the nation's election system. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith also blocked a set of bills on election security Wednesday. In blocking the legislation pushed by Senate Democrats to provide more funding for election security, McConnell declared the effort partisan and insisted the Trump administration has already done much to secure the nation's elections. One bill McConnell objected to would have both required the use of paper ballots and provided funding for the Election Assistance Commission. He also objected to legislation that would have required campaigns and candidates to report offers of election-related aid from foreign governments. McConnell's blocking of the legislation also comes as the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report identifying significant vulnerabilities — like aging voting equipment, paperless machines without backups and insecurity voter registration basis — exist in the United States' election system. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized McConnell's decision to halt additional funding for election security ahead of 2020.