WASHINGTON—The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with Indiana officials that will help to ensure the accuracy and integrity of Indiana's statewide registration list in accordance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
The agreement sets forth the state's short-term and long-term plan for creating and implementing a program to identify and remove ineligible voters from the statewide database, including deceased registrants, convicted felons, and voters who no longer live in Indiana or the county of their registration. The lawsuit, which was filed contemporaneously with the agreement, was filed following a Justice Department investigation that found that Indiana had hundreds of thousands of ineligible voters on its registration lists, including over 29,000 possibly deceased registrants and 290,000 duplicate registrations.
"I commend Attorney General Carter, Secretary of State Rokita, and the Indiana Election Division co-directors for their willingness to address the state's inaccurate and overstated registration lists without delay and costly litigation," said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. "These measures will provide immediate and lasting reform and will help ensure the integrity of Indiana's elections."
The agreement, which must be approved by the federal district court in Indianapolis, requires the state and its counties to review and correct its registration lists. The agreement also requires the state to conduct a statewide mailing to help identify voters who have moved and are no longer eligible to vote in the state of Indiana.
The Justice Department has brought many suits under the NVRA to ensure the accuracy and integrity of each state's registration list and to assure that each state processes registration applications in a timely and accurate manner. More information about the NVRA and other federal voting laws are available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov. Complaints about discriminatory voting practices may be called in to the Voting Section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division at 1 (800) 253-3931.
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