INDIANAPOLIS – John Zody, Chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, released the following statement in response to Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson’s public investigation into voter registration errors across Indiana.
“There is a heightened sense of uneasiness this fall, unfortunately stoked by partisan motivations from those who want to erode the public’s confidence in our elections system. Instead, I am calling on leaders in all parties to work together to build confidence in our system of elections both locally and at the state and national levels.
Yesterday’s news from the Secretary of State citing irregularities in voter registration information should be examined – and it should be done so in a transparent fashion so that everyone involved in the administration of elections can seek to find the answers that will enfranchise every eligible voter in our state – and we should not rush to judgment and assume fraud. Now that a Republican chief state legislator and local election official has echoed this concern, I am hopeful that these problems can be solved in a bipartisan way. As such, I wish the following to be clear to not just the Indiana Democratic Party, but to all those who have seen recent news regarding alleged voting registration irregularities:
1. Any confirmed acts of fraud should be dealt with accordingly by the proper authorities. Period.
2. The Indiana Secretary of State needs to make available the list of voters that her office alone, without input from bipartisan staff at the Indiana Election Division, determined contained voter registration irregularities that have been characterized as “in the thousands”. Requests by bipartisan staff for this information have thus far been denied – keeping the public in the dark.
3. Any Hoosier who has concerns about their voter registration should check their registration onwww.indianavoters.com. If irregularities are found, they could contact their local election officials. Contact information for those officials can be found here: https://indianavoters.in.gov/PublicSite/Public/FT1/PublicContactLookup.aspx.
It should be the goal of all political parties, campaigns, and election administrators to ensure that everyone eligible, regardless of political affiliation, is able to exercise their right to vote in this important election.
The Indiana Democratic Party will continue to be an advocate for this right, and we encourage everyone to vote early by mail or in person if you are not able to do so on Tuesday, November 8.”
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