Yesterday, County Clerks and Election Administrators in Indiana received an email from the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office, informing us of some invalid absentee ballot applications which were being circulated. It is attached and reads as follows:
Dear County Clerks and Election Administrators,
It has come to our attention that invalid absentee ballot applications are circulating. These applications have the instructions removed, voiding the application. If you receive one of these applications, please contact the voter and ask them to fill out a valid application immediately so there is time to remedy the situation.
It is the responsibility of organizations conducting absentee and voter registration campaigns to be familiar with Indiana law. We know there are absentee and voter registration efforts of organized groups not familiar with Indiana rules. This may cause you to get a batch of applications with problems. If you know who the group is, please notify my office so we can get in contact with them and try to correct the issue going forward.
As always, if I can be of assistance in any way, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Connie Lawson
Indiana Secretary of State
FOOTNOTE: At the time of the email, the source of the applications was not known. Later in the day, I learned that one of my employees had actually received one of the applications in the mail and I forwarded a copy to the Secretary of State’s Office. I have attached the mailing my employee received. Her name and address have been redacted to protect her identity. I have also attached a valid application (ABS-MAIL)
So far, the Vanderburgh County Election Office has received 18 of these invalid applications. We are contacting these voters to let them know there is an issue and mailing a valid application to them. If a voter has concerns as to whether or not the application they submitted is valid, they may contact the Election Office. If they have already received a ballot in the mail, then they may assume there was no issue.
