State initiative aims to reduce voter fraud Election Day

The state will implement new measures to decrease voter fraud on Election Day, Joseph Hogsett, U.S. attorney for the southern district of Indiana, announced in Bloomington Tuesday.

On Nov. 6, federal prosecutors will be stationed at U.S. Attorney’s Offices in several Indiana cities, including Indianapolis, New Albany, Terre Haute and Evansville.

Election officials and voters will be able to report suspected election fraud or voting rights violations to these prosecutors from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The office does not anticipate any criminal activity at the polls but is prepared to help fix glitches of any kind.

“We have no reason to believe that the election will be conducted in any way other than impartially, fairly and consistently,” Hogsett said. “But we are here to make sure that Hoosier voters have an unfettered right to cast their ballots on election day.”

Efforts to reduce voter fraud, especially through voter identification legislation, have been a national discussion in recent months. Indiana is considered one of four states with strict voter ID laws.

Hogsett said these new efforts are unrelated to the national attention on voter ID and are merely a commitment to election integrity.

IU political science professor Marjorie Hershey, an expert in political parties, campaigns and elections, said the efforts made by the U.S. Attorney’s Office are nonpartisan and should prove effective.

“We don’t need lots of uniforms floating around,” Hershey said. “We just need people who have the ability to get authoritative information quickly so that people don’t become fed up and go home.”

Hogsett said any concerns about voter fraud should be addressed with local election officials before contacting the stationed attorneys on election day.

“Of course, the United States Attorney’s Office is not the only place to go for election-related concerns or election-related assistance,” Hogsett said. “The local election officials are charged with conducting the election. However, it’s helpful for people to know there are alternatives.”