Contact: AJ Freeney-Ruiz
317-233-8655
Media@sos.in.gov
Indianapolis, IN - Today, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita has issued a statement applauding Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter and his office on their continued efforts to prosecute election fraud crimes in Lake County and elsewhere.
Statement by Secretary of State Todd Rokita:
After seeing what courts believed to be rampant abuses of the absentee voting process in Lake County's mayoral primary, I called for the state to investigate the alleged fraud in August of 2003, and personally oversaw the special election in East Chicago with a bipartisan team of observers. Today, Attorney General Steve Carter, the State Police, and the Lake County Prosecutor's office continue the quest to bring those who sought to steal the elections to justice. I applaud the continued effort by these leaders, which in recent days has led to the felony indictments of fourteen additional perpetrators in the election crimes committed in 2003.
My office continues to help secure our electoral process here in Indiana by ensuring that all eligible Hoosiers have the ability to have their vote counted - once. The state's Voter ID law now requires voters to show photo identification to prove they are who they say they are before voting in person. The state's recent absentee ballot reforms make transgressions similar to those that occurred in Lake County far more difficult today.