State police expand Indiana Voter Registration Project investigation to 57 counties

a reply to: Bluntone22

This is not about someone voting illegally. This is about "voter REGISTRATION fraud". These are two different things.

a reply to: desert


Why would you commit fraud to register if you didnt plan to vote illegally?

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Indigo5



I suppose it may be a nutter involved
But as I said above. We must show photo ID'S to vote.
That is not voter suppression.

You seem confused.

It is ILLEGAL for a voter registration office like the one raided to select what applications they submit to the Sec of State.

They are legally obligated to submit all of them.

The Sec of State then screens them for authentic addresses and citizenship etc.

Inaccurate and goofy applications happen all the time and are tossed by the Sec of State.

What this Sec. of State did in Indiana was take 10 inaccurate or bad applications...and then raid the Voter Registration office in a democratic neighborhood accusing them of voter fraud. Seized all of their in process voter registration forms, closed the office etc. and shut them down.

They are now expanding it to raiding other voter registration offices in other counties that might lean democrat.

THAT is voter suppression...and frankly inexcusable legally...but the Sec of State is gambling that by the time she gets slapped on the wrist, the election will be over.

a reply to: Indigo5

The 10 questionable forms were the first to be investigated back in august. Since that time the investigation has spread to 57 counties.
My county and all surrounding it are under investigation too.
There are a lot of republican dominated counties iincluded in the probe.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Indigo5

The 10 questionable forms were the first to be investigated back in august. Since that time the investigation has spread to 57 counties.
My county and all surrounding it are under investigation too.
There are a lot of republican dominated counties iincluded in the probe.

Hmmm ... Ms. Lawson decided to grab all the registrations then?

Wonder why ... how many anomalous registrations have been found again? Total?

Ah, that's right.

10.

a reply to: Gryphon66


10 were discovered in august.
Where did the article say that was all that was found?

a reply to: Bluntone22

Let's say I volunteer to register voters at a booth at a local fair, for example. Someone comes up and says, "Yeah, I want to register." I give them a card and they fill it out.... with Donald Duck or some such nonsense. I cannot simply trash that card, it has to be submitted. Sometimes people would "protest" an election by filling out voter registration cards with nonsense, and they don't even intend to participate in the electoral process.

Or let's say, as a registrar of voters, and for some reason, I want to show I've registered a certain amount of voters. I could fill these cards out in, with either nonsense or even using someone's actual information without them knowing it. Or, I could erase info or fill in blanks I should not fill in on forms completed by a potential voter. Things like these have happened, and individual registrars have been jailed for it.

a reply to: Gryphon66

Also see here where Legal authorities are weighing in..It's pretty brazen voter suppression.."a new level"..

But, according to the Intercept, the state of Indiana doesn't allow voter registration forms – even those the group conducting the voter registration drive worries may be inaccurate– to be discarded without being looked over by the state.


Tokaji argued that while limiting early voting and requiring photo ID all had negative affects on voter turnout, launching an investigation like the one in Indiana – which has essentially stopped the group from registering voters– represented a new level of potential voter suppression.

"There is nothing that affects turnout on Election Day more than voter registration," Tokaji said. "Voting registration is really the big thing. If you make it more difficult to register, you will decrease the number of people who vote. ... These sorts of law enforcement activities are extremely worrisome."


...

Tokaji agreed that registering fake voters would not lead to voter fraud.

"So far as I know Micky Mouse hasn't showed up yet. The risk of this turning into actual voter fraud, is infinitesimally small," Tokaji said. "If the facts here are true, it sounds like this is a concerted effort to shut down a group that is trying to register actual live voters who will actually vote."

talkingpointsmemo.com...

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Gryphon66


10 were discovered in august.
Where did the article say that was all that was found?

Where did the article say that any more had been found?

I find it telling that you're willing to overlook rather obvious government overreach in this situation.

The evidence has been clearly provided here that describes what's really going on, not election fraud but, as usual when the GOP is involved, voter suppression.

In 2007, the Bush administration wrapped up its five year investigation (on the public dime) into voter fraud. They had to concede that there were only a few dozen cases nationwide - mostly from felons trying to register or similar.

The the GOP set about scrubbing hundreds of thousands of names from the voting rolls. Most of these were in impoverished and/or predominantly African-American regions.

The GOP has systematically gerrymandered districts to skew the vote away from largely Democrat leaning areas.

There's the whole Diebold thing, but that's way too easy.

There's the Florida thing....but we all know what a can of worms that opens!

The GOP has recently had a bunch of 'voter restriction' bills thrown out.
The GOP spends a lot of time, and money on getting voter restriction laws put into place.

It's almost as if they are afraid that if they played fair they'd be overwhelmed by real votes for the other party.
You know, like the last couple of elections.

It never occurs to them that their policies don't benefit anyone but the billionaires club.

a reply to: Indigo5

I wish I could say I'm surprised.

I'm not. I'm appalled at this kind of government malfeasance.

How sad that the folks who are generally so ready to condemn the government are actually supporting this crap on the part of the Indiana SOS.

originally posted by: Gryphon66

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Gryphon66


10 were discovered in august.
Where did the article say that was all that was found?

Where did the article say that any more had been found?

I find it telling that you're willing to overlook rather obvious government overreach in this situation.

The evidence has been clearly provided here that describes what's really going on, not election fraud by, as usual when the GOP is involved, voter suppression.

Right...

And the Sec of State has not explained how 10 bad applications out of 35,000 that the group submitted for review can be evidence of fraud, when the law requires the group to turn over all applications to the Sec of State for screening regardless.

The Indiana Voter Registration Project submitted more than 35,000 voter applications in Indiana, according to a press release through Patriot Majority, which has conducted voter registration drives in 11 states.

www.heraldbulletin.com...

This is some outright voter-suppression,..she thinks it will earn her props from X-Gov. Pence if he makes it to VP...and that worst case she will get some bad press and a slap on the wrist...but none of that can be sorted out before the election and her damage is done.

a reply to: Indigo5

AHHHhhhh ... of course.

She's showing her loyalty to Mr. Pence.

Hadn't made that connection Indigo.

a reply to: Indigo5


Apparently a little voter fraud is acceptable.
We don't need to bother with checking it out.

I see the typical tools are here to remind us it's not a problem.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Indigo5


Apparently a little voter fraud is acceptable.
We don't need to bother with checking it out.

For effs sake..

The Sec of State is the one who has legal authority and responsibility to screen applications.

It is illegal for the Voter Registration group to toss them...

So WTF are you talking about?

Police raid Indiana Voter Registration Project, reports of fraud expand to multiple counties

Update (October 7, 2016): A total of 56 counties have now been added to the investigation.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Indiana State Police raided the Indiana Voter Registration Project as part of an expanded investigation into allegations of fraudulent voter application information in multiple Indiana counties.

The investigation originally involved Hendricks and Marion counties but has since expanded to include Allen, Delaware, Hamilton, Hancock, Johnson, Lake and Madison counties, state police said.

ISP says the investigation into the Indiana Voter Registration Project began after they were tipped off by the Hendricks County Clerk's office to inaccuracies in registration forms.

So it was not started by the Republican SecState as some claimed in this thread.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for the business offices of the Indiana Voter Registration Project, 2425 North Meridian Street, Suite A, in downtown Indianapolis.

The affidavit and search warrant are sealed for a period of 30 days from the time the warrant was granted, which was October 3, 2016.

State police say an investigation of this nature is complex, time consuming and is expected to continue for several more weeks or months.

"Some people are having the incorrect names, with incorrect addresses, or the correct names with incorrect addresses, or the correct names with incorrect date of birth and that will come to play, if you go to vote, they’re not going to let you vote," said ISP Sgt. Rich Myers.

Not being able to vote because of incorrect information is important, especially if its being done to prevent a person from voting.

Important points related to this ongoing investigation include:

In accordance with state law, all voter registration applications received by Indiana voter registration offices are processed according to established policies
A representative sample of voter registration applications received by county voter registration offices suspected of being fraudulent have been COPIED and provided to state police detectives. In all cases the ORIGINAL applications are maintained by the appropriate voter registration office
The expanded number of counties involved leads investigators to believe the total of potentially fraudulent records may be in the hundreds, thus creating a potential to disenfranchise many voters
The possible fraudulent or false information is a combination of made up names and made up addresses, real names with made up or incorrect addresses and false dates of births with real names as well as combinations of all these examples.

Victims of voter registration fraud may not realize their information was altered until they go to vote and realize they are unable to do so.

Voters are encouraged to check their information at indianavoters.com or through the Indiana Voters app. If you find something wrong, contact the Secretary of State’s Office at 1-866-IN-1-Vote (1-866-461-8683).

The voter registration deadline is Oct. 11, and Lawson believes the group will continue to operate right up to the close of registration. Be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Voters can register by going online or visiting their county clerk’s office. Hoosiers can also register at state offices like the Bureau of Motor Vehicles or Family and Social Services.

Patriot Majority USA President Craig Varoga released this statement on behalf of the Indiana Voter Registration Project:

“After all is said and done, when this partisan investigation finds no wrongdoing by the organization, Connie Lawson and the Indiana State Police will have prevented 45,000 African Americans from voting in this year’s elections. That is why today we reported their outrageous actions to the Department of Justice.”

Typical response when it comes to ensuring laws are followed. If the fraudulent forms are coming from one group then the group should be looked at to see whats going on.

The fact they call it a partisan attack tells me they are not fans of the Republicans. I guess Democrats are all about voter suppression only when it helps there candidates and scream like little children when they get caught.

By the way Patriot Majority USA does not retain the voter registration records. It was when the forms were turned into the county clerks office did the fraudulent information come to light.

Under their action plan, number 1 to be exact -

Protect voting rights and encourage broad participation in our American elections as a means to enfranchise Americans both politically and economically.

Ironic they would have issues with a voter fraud investigation when voting is at the top of their list.

Factcheck.org Patriot Majority USA

Patriot Majority USA

Patriot Majority USA was founded in 2005 by Democratic political strategist Craig Varoga, who managed former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack’s presidential campaign in the 2008 election and was national field director for Gen. Wesley Clark’s 2004 campaign. Varoga is also the group’s president.

The 501(c)(4) organization focuses on economic issues, and, according to an e-mail Varoga sent to us, it “has a multi-year plan to promote policies at the local, state and federal levels that create jobs and help develop the American economy.” Its website also says that the organization “endorses the patriotic observation of President Theodore Roosevelt, who noted, ‘A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy.’