Secretary of State’s Office Reports Potential Voter Registration Fraud

Posted on October 19, 2016
Author Mary Perren, WKVI

Indiana voters whose registration may have been compromised can still cast ballots in the upcoming General Election. Secretary of State Connie Lawson discovered “thousands of dates of birth and first names” were changed after running a report in the Statewide Voter Registration System. She did so after her office received calls from an unspecified number of voters who learned the date of birth or first name on their voter registration is incorrect.

Lawson adds records were changed on paper forms, at the BMV and online.

“At this time, my office is not sure why these records were changed, but we have evaluated the Statewide Voter Registration System and have found no indication it has been compromised,” Lawson said.

She believes it may be a case of voter fraud and says findings have been turned over to the Indiana State Police. They are investigating voter fraud allegations in at least 56 counties.

Voters who cannot locate their information on the website Indianavoters.com are led to believe they are not registered. They are required to enter their name, county of residence and date of birth to access their registration records online. Lawson says voters who have contacted her office did vote in the Primary Election.

She adds voters who cast ballots in the Primary Election and can no longer find themselves on the website are encouraged to contact their local county election officials. Lawson says county election offices may be able to find a voter’s record if there is an issue with a voter’s date of birth or first name. Since the voter registration deadline has passed, only the county election offices may be able to assist voters to correct information under limited circumstances.

Additionally, voters who discover their date of birth or first name is incorrect on their registration will still be able to vote in the Nov. 8 General Election. Voters who try entering different dates of birth may discover their record. They would then be able to correct their date of birth for their voting record on Indianavoters.com. The correction will not take place until 30 days after the election, but the voter will be able to vote on Nov. 8 or participate in early voting.

Lawson encourages all voters to cast ballots early to ensure they will not encounter any issues at the polls.

Voters with questions can call the Hoosier Voter Hotline at 1-866-IN-1-VOTE.