Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced today that the Indiana Voter Registration Project and twelve employees have been accused of falsifying voter registration applications and submitting those applications to the voter registration offices of the Marion County and St. Joseph County Clerks. Criminal charges were filed today in Marion County, Indiana.
Prosecutor Curry clarified that officials are not aware of any evidence that fraudulent ballots were cast in the November 2016 election or that voter fraud was committed. “These allegations pertain to voter registration applications provided to county officials prior to the November election,” he commented. “Let me be clear that these are not allegations of voter fraud nor is there any evidence to suggest that voter fraud was the alleged motivation.”
“Without regard to alleged motivation, the paramount concern is protecting the integrity of the electoral process, and intentional irregularities in voter registrations cannot be tolerated,” Prosecutor Curry stated.
According to the probable cause affidavits filed today, some canvassers employed by the association were under the belief that they had a quota for applications.
“We do not believe this was a widespread effort to infringe voters, intentionally register ineligible individuals, or to impact the election. Instead we allege that a bad business practice led to illegal actions by the local association and these twelve individuals,” Prosecutor further explained.
The investigation began in August 2016 when the Hendricks County Clerk reported to the Indiana State Police that the office had received voter registration applications submitted by the Indiana Voter Registration Project which appeared to have inconsistencies, missing information, and erroneous data when compared to the on-file registrations for voters. The investigation expanded to Marion County in September and eventually included 56 Indiana Counties based on evidence that the Indiana Voter Registration Project had submitted voter registration applications in each of those counties.
Ultimately, Prosecutor Curry said his office believes that sufficient evidence was presented to warrant criminal charges in connection with allegations related to voter registration applications submitted in two counties.
“We appreciate the assistance of the county clerks and the Office of the Indiana Secretary of State for bringing voter registration concerns to the attention of law enforcement and for their cooperation during this complex investigation,” Prosecutor Curry commented.
Holiday Burke is accused of creating and submitting voter registration applications to various county voter registration offices that she knew were forged or fictitious. She is being charged with Procuring or Submission of False, Fictitious, or Fraudulent Voter Registration Application (Level 6 Felony) and Counterfeiting (Level 6 Felony). Burke is believed to have held a management role in the association and personally submitted a number of the applications to the county offices. Further, she is accused of refusing to complete affidavits required when a third party files voter registration applications believed to contain false or fraudulent information.
Glynn Parish knowingly procuring or submitting voter registration applications known to be materially false, fictitious or fraudulent in St. Joseph County and accepting at least one application from an applicant knowing it contained false information. Parish is being charged with Procuring or Submission of False, Fictitious, or Fraudulent Voter Registration Application (Level 6 Felony) and Perjury (Level 6 Felony).
The following individuals have been accused of knowingly procuring or submitting voter registration applications known to be materially false, fictitious or fraudulent in Marion County and accepting at least one application from an applicant knowing it contained false information. Each is being charged with two counts: Procuring or Submission of False, Fictitious, or Fraudulent Voter Registration Application (Level 6 Felony) and Perjury (Level 6 Felony).
- Dallila Alexander
- Makayla Colbert
- Valerie Franklin
- Kylee Garrett
- Tiara Kurtz
- Claude Nash
- Tina Pace
- Tonya Trotter
- Kiziah Tyler
- Jasmin Young
Additionally, the Indiana Voter Registration Project is being charged with Procuring or Submission of False, Fictitious, or Fraudulent Voter Registration Application (Level 6 Felony) and Counterfeiting (Level 6 Felony). If convicted, the court could fine the association $10,000.
During the course of the investigation, Indiana State Police served search warrants on multiple locations including the Indianapolis office of the Indiana Voter Registration Project. No registration applications were confiscated by investigators from that office or County Clerks’ offices, but suspect registration applications were photocopied as evidence.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office exercised jurisdiction over the allegations originating in St. Joseph County due to the management of voter files by the Office of the Indiana Secretary of State which is located within Marion County.
