Indiana Secretary of State’s Office refers case of non-citizen voting in Indiana to law enforcement

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales said his office uncovered a case of a non-citizen illegally voting multiple times in Vigo County.

“Only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote—period,” Secretary Morales said.

His office said the man has a Mexican passport and has voted in six elections since 2018.

“He confirmed verbally to them that he’s not a U.S. Citizen, so that information has been turned into the county prosecutor and the DOJ from our office,” said Kegan Prentice, the deputy general counsel/legislative director for the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.

“As no charges have been filed, we will not be releasing the individual’s name, but I’m confident after a full investigation has been completed, this individual will be held accountable,” Secretary Morales said.

Secretary Morales could not confirm if the individual’s vote compromised any local elections or how the man got on the voter rolls in the first place.

In a statement, Executive Director of Common Cause Indiana Julia Vaughn said in part:

“…Hoosiers should withhold judgment until any potential law-breaking is confirmed by our justice system, and they decide on what happened. That’s our process and it works.”

“If it’s verified, why don’t we have the information?” Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell asked. “Is this intentional malfeasance? Is this a mistake? We don’t have enough information right now.”

This comes as the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office has identified roughly 1,600 other individuals whose voter registration is attached to a temporary credential. The office said those individuals have 30 days to respond to requests for proof of citizenship or risk having their voter registration automatically canceled.

“Individuals that have not responded with proof of citizenship, we’ll start to work with law enforcement to hand over that information,” Prentice said.

But Clerk Sweeney Bell argued that the information the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office is relying on to try to identify non-citizens isn’t necessarily up to date.

“Once someone becomes a citizen, that information is not necessarily transferred to the BMV,” Clerk Sweeney Bell said. “When it comes to disenfranchising a voter, that’s very serious business and all the facts have to be in.”

Vigo County Chief Deputy Clerk Elizabeth Stiverson said she is aware of this issue and that it is being investigated, but had no further comments at this time.