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Marion Co. prosecutor shooting down allegations of voter suppression, intimidation by third party

Posted at 1:48 PM, Oct 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-26 17:18:19-04

INDIANAPOLIS -- Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry shot down allegations of voter suppression and intimidation by third parties Wednesday in connection with an Indiana State Police investigation into voter registration fraud. 

The investigation centers on the Indiana Voter Registration Project, a subsidiary of Patriot Majority USA, a liberal leaning national political action committee.

Indiana State Policeraided the group's offices in Indianapolis on October 4.  In response, IVRPasked the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to investigate efforts by state officials to "suppress tens of thousands of African American votes."

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ISP Superintendent Doug Carter confirmed to RTV6 last Friday that ISP has found evidence of voter registration fraud in its investigation but would not give specifics.

In a statement released Wednesday, Curry said he has met with Superintendent Carter and will determine if charges are appropriate after ISP's investigation wraps up:

"Reckless assertions by third parties of voter suppression and intimidation are without merit. We trust our public safety partners at the Indiana State Police to thoroughly and appropriately investigate the allegations of irregularities in some voter registrations."

Curry also said his office has asked ISP not to release any more information regarding the voter registration fraud investigation to maintain confidentiality. He went on to say that it is his obligation under the Rules of Professional Conduct to make sure law enforcement agencies don't disclose information beyond what is in the public record.

Violations of Indiana election law include voter intimidation and voter fraud which carry criminal charges up to a Level 6 Felony.  Election statues also cover crimes committed in polling locations, such as knowingly interfering with a poll watcher's duties and obstructing, interfering with, or injuring a voter or election officer.

Voters who believe they have witnessed election law violations on Election Day should contact the Indiana Secretary of State's Officer at 1-866-461-8683 or the Marion County Election Board at elections@indy.gov.

MORE | How to report complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses on election day

On Tuesday, a data analysis firm hired by Patriot Majority to review the state voter file said it found thousands of people over the age of 110 who would likely be deceased and are still registered to vote.

The review found 837,000 voters with out-of-date addresses when compared to the United States Postal Service address database, as well as 4,556 duplicate registrations, 3,000 records without dates of birth and 31 records of registered voters who are too young to cast a ballot.