Voter fraud investigated

Dave Hawk
The News-Dispatch

LA PORTE - Two instances of possible voter fraud in the Nov. 4 election have been turned over to La Porte County Prosecutor Robert Beckman.

Election Board attorney Ralph Howes said Wednesday that one case is the matter of a woman who allegedly bragged that she had also voted in Florida while she was at the courthouse in Michigan City on Nov. 3, as reported here earlier.

The other case involves a man who voted absentee, then went to the polling place at the Michigan City Area Schools Administration Building polling place on election day and voted again, Howes said.

"In this case it was an oversight on the part of the one of the election clerks," Howes said. The voter's name was coded in the voting books as having voted absentee, he said, "but the clerk evidently didn't catch it and the man voted twice."

The first case involved a Michigan City woman who openly talked about having voted once in Florida as she went to the courthouse for early voting the day before the election.

Attorney Doug Bernacchi, who has an office in Michigan City, said he alerted authorities and this newspaper after the woman told him she already voted in Florida.

Howes said Wednesday, "With the limited resources available to the Election Board we did make an effort to contact Florida. There did seem to be a number of similarities between the person who voted here and in Florida.

"That included the same date of birth, the same first name and initial, but a different last name," Howes said.

"It's a very unusual first name, I don't know that I've ever seen that first name before," he said.

"I've been in contact with Lake County (Florida) election fraud unit and I understand she registered to vote with a Florida driver's license," he said. The sheriff in La Porte County ran the driver's license and found that the driver's license was not current, he said.

The voter in Florida cast an absentee ballot in Lake County there. It had been mailed to an address in Leesburg, Fla., Howes said. He said the La Porte County Election Board has turned over this and additional information and documents to Beckman's office.

"I had a phone conversation with the prosecutor, and I was invited to bring the documents, and I have done so, last week," Howes said.

"They have investigative resources far beyond what the Election Board has," Howes said. "Wouldn't it be nice if the person charged with investigating this would knock on this person's door and ask some questions," Howes said.

Beckman responded in an e-mail Wednesday, saying, "The prosecutors' office cannot discuss pending criminal investigations which have not yet had formal criminal charges filed."

Howes also said, "I also did solicit the Michigan City Police Department detective bureau and met with no success there."

A message was left with Lt. Sue Harrison, commander of the detective bureau, but the call was not returned.

Howes is the Republican member of the three-member Election Board, which consists of one Republican, one Democrat and the county clerk.

Contact Managing Editor Dave Hawk at dhawk@thenewsdispatch.com.