State Police investigating voter registration fraud

The Indiana State Police are investigating what they say are fraudulent voter registration forms in Marion and Hendricks counties.

The forms are among more than 28,000 submitted to county registration offices by a little-known group called the Indiana Voter Registration Project.

"We have determined at least 10 voter registration forms are confirmed to have fraudulent information," said Dave Bursten, a State Police spokesman.

Bursten said a team of six detectives is working to determine whether other forms are also fraudulent. The FBI has been briefed, he said.

"This is not an investigation that’s going to end in three days," he said. "This is going to take time to peel back multiple layers of the onion."

The group has no website and is not registered with the Indiana secretary of state's office.

IndyStar reporters visited the group's mostly empty office on Meridian Street near Fall Creek on Thursday. A man who identified himself as Karim Aziz of New Jersey declined to answer questions about the group's affiliation or operations. He said the group was nonpartisan.

When asked about fraud concerns, Aziz said he wasn't aware of any. He provided a phone number where he said someone could give more information. IndyStar called the number repeatedly, but no one answered, and there was no voicemail.

Later in the afternoon, the group released a statement through spokeswoman Christy Setzer, whose PR firm's website says she has worked as a Democratic strategist for the presidential campaigns of Al Gore, Howard Dean and Chris Dodd.

"We sincerely hope that no one in a partisan elected position is using their office in an effort to make it harder for the people of Indiana to vote," Setzer said. "The Indiana Voter Registration Project is a nonpartisan effort to ensure that all Indianans who are eligible to vote can do so. As part of its quality-assurance program, the Indiana Voter Registration Project has reviewed tens of thousands of applications and identified a small handful that may have had incomplete or inaccurate information and, in those instances, we immediately informed the Registrar and asked them to double check those forms for accuracy."

But Hendricks County Clerk Debbie Hoskins, a Republican, said her office found the suspicious registrations on its own and notified State Police.

Setzer declined to answer questions about who is funding the group or how registration gatherers are paid.

"We have and will continue to work with Indiana authorities to resolve these issues, so that no one is prevented from voting in November who is eligible to do so," she said.

Shortly after IndyStar reported Thursday on the suspicious registrations, employees arriving for work at the group's Meridian Street office were told it was abruptly closing for the day.

A worker standing outside the office said employees had been sent home and declined to give further information.

Another worker speaking with an IndyStar reporter was cut off by a woman who told him he wasn’t authorized to talk with press. She told the remaining workers “we have a canceled shift for the day.”

Before being interrupted, the man said he learned about the job from a high school friend and attended a 45-minute orientation at the office. On a typical workday, employees were loaded in vans and dropped off at locations throughout the city, such as 38th Street and Keystone Avenue, to approach people and ask whether they wanted to fill out voter registration paperwork.

He said supervisors stressed rules that required voters, not canvassers, to fill out personal information and sign the registration forms themselves.

Once voters filled out the form, they were to be given a receipt that included information about the Indiana Voter Registration Project employee who had spoken with them. Voters also were told their registration card would be at their residence within two weeks, the worker said.

Voter registration officials in Marion County say some forms were missing key information, such as Social Security numbers and birth dates. So election officials reached out to those voters, who said they never filled out the registration forms.

"I’m pretty concerned because if there is any kind of voter fraud or forgery going on, it really just corrupts the process," said Cindy Mowery, Republican director of the Marion County Board of Voter Registration.

Her Democratic counterpart, LaDonna Freeman, said if groups are submitting fraudulent registration forms, "It’s really unnecessary." Voters already can easily register online, she said.

Connor Lynn, director of operations for the Marion County Republican Party, said he was approached by one of the group's canvassers on Monument Circle one evening this week.

Lynn said the canvasser told him he worked for the Indiana Voter Registration Project, but "when I inquired about a business card, he pulled out a piece of paper with the Marion County voter registration office address on it and said, 'This is my information. This is where I work.'"

Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson said Thursday the group had turned in "forged voter registration applications." She warned voters to check their registration information, saying evidence was found that the group had changed a voter's address to one not associated with that person.

“Election integrity and security is a top priority,” Lawson said in a statement. “We are working with the State Police to ensure this matter is addressed quickly. I encourage all Hoosiers to be vigilant at this time and to monitor their voter registrations until the close of the voter registration deadline.”

Voters can register, make changes to their registration and make sure there have been no unauthorized changes to their registration information at Indianavoters.com or on the Indiana Voters app. Voters also can register in person at their county clerk's office or have a registration form mailed to their home.

Lawson encouraged voters who find that their information has been changed without their knowledge to call the secretary of state's office at (866) IN-1-Vote (461-8683).

Indiana's voter registration deadline is Oct. 11.

Call IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.

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