Mix-up registers Indiana voters twice

INDIANAPOLIS -- Nearly 6,000 voters are registered to vote in both Lake and Porter counties, a problem that state election officials say exposes the counties to election fraud and illustrates the need for a statewide, up-to-date voter list.\nCensus trends indicate the region has a fluid population that is generally shifting from Lake to Porter County, but thousands remain eligible to vote at their old address for years after moving. Strict election laws limit the removal of moved or dead voters.\nSusan Cartwright, for example, moved in 2002 from Hobart to Valparaiso. She changed her driver's license information at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and was automatically registered to vote in Porter County. But she's still eligible to vote in her former Lake County precinct.\nCartwright found out about the duplicate registrations last month when she received a postcard from the state requesting an update. Her reply will take her off the Lake County roll before the general election.\n"I thought the old one would automatically cancel," Cartwright told The Times of Munster.\nThe state administers a duplication elimination program in even-numbered years. A company identifies matches and sends a postcard requesting updated information.\nThe firm sent out nearly 234,000 cards this year, including 7,159 in Lake County and 5,461 in Porter County, said Brad King, co-director of the Indiana Election Division.\nIf voters do not return the cards or they are undeliverable, their name will be put on a list of names to be purged. If the voters cast a ballot in the next election, they become active again. If they don't vote in two consecutive general elections, their names are purged.\nLake County's history of voter fraud underscores the importance of creating a voter registration system that is accurate, current and statewide, Secretary of State Todd Rokita said.\n"We've got to start instilling confidence in the voting system," Rokita said. "The statewide voter file will help. It's tantamount to cleaning up voter fraud in Northwest Indiana and the rest of the state."\nThe $9.3 million statewide voter registration system, slated for 2006, will merge all 92 county voter databases and link it to systems at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Social Security Administration and the Indiana Departments of Health and Corrections.