Indiana officials have started an investigation into possible voter fraud after people noticed their voter registration cards had incorrect information. Secretary of State Connie Lawson released this statement:
“We ran a report in the Statewide Voter Registration System and found thousands of dates of births and first names were changed. These 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. We believe this may be a case of voter fraud and have turned our findings over to the State Police, who are currently conducting an investigation into alleged voter fraud.”
The voters found the mistakes when they checked their information at Indianavoters.com. People have to input their name and date of birth, but if either one is wrong, they cannot view their registration, which makes them think they are no longer registered:
Voters who find their date of birth or first name is incorrect on their registration will still be able to vote in the November 8th General Election. Voters who explore 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 November 8th or participate in early voting. All voters are encouraged to vote early to ensure they will not encounter any issues when casting their ballot this year. Voters with questions can call the Hoosier Voter Hotline at 1-866-IN-1-VOTE.
The Indiana State Police have already started an investigation into voter fraud in 56 counties, which led the police to raid the “Indiana Voter Registration Project, a subsidiary operation of the Patriot Majority US, a non profit advocacy organization.”
As of now, they do not have confirmation if the cases are related:
“(T)he changing of a first name and/or date of birth is consistent with what we are seeing on a number of voter registration applications submitted by (the Indiana Voter Registration Project),” Indiana State Police said in a statement to CNN.
Patriot Majority US has said investigators have unfairly targeted them and it’s all a part of a Republican conspiracy to squash the African American vote. They even submitted a report to the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.
But Julia Vaughn, the policy director of the nonpartisan government watchdog group Common Cause Indiana, urged Lawson to make sure that fraud actually caused the mishap instead of software malfunction:
“There is almost no history of this kind of fraud here so her response helps to fuel irrational claims by Donald Trump and others that the election will be stolen through voter fraud,” Vaughn said.
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