TAMPA, FL -- It has been an election unlike any other, with a record four point two million Floridians voting early.
It's an election that's sparked tremendous passion. But also one open to irregularties. An ABC Action News investigation has found that thousands of voters are registered in two states, meaning they could vote twice.
Karen Handel, Georgia's Secretary of State, says, "It is a felony to vote twice, and it is also a huge detriment to the democracy of our country."
Georgia and Florida officials say they've launched an investigation into what we've uncovered: Tens of thousands of people are registered in two states, and at least one Florida man has apparently cast ballots in both states this election.
I traveled throughout Florida for this report and on my trip I found Thomas Habel at Habel's condominium on Marco Island, in Southwest Florida.
Habel was surprised that records show he voted twice. Habel is a Florida resident, but also has a home in Hartwell, Georgia. Habel says he voted only once, on October 25th, at the Marco Island Public Library. However, a Georgia online voting record shows that Habel voted in Hart County, Ga. three weeks earlier.
Mr. Habel told us, I don't recall it. I went there to get an absentee ballot for my wife that day, period."
Matthew Schwartz said to Habel, "Somebody would remember if they voted twice." Habel replied, "I went and got a ballot for my wife."
Elzabeth Forbes is the Chief Registrar in Hart County. When a reporter asked Mrs. Forbes if she knows for sure that Mr. Habel knows he voted in Georgia, she said, "Yes, he does."
Forbes says she knows Thomas Habel, that just about everyone knows each other in Hartwell, a small town two hours from Atlanta. Forbes says she even saw Habel vote in Georgia on Oct. 1st.
If Habel voted twice, did anyone else?
Our investigation shows that Habel is among 112-thousand voters registered in two states. Working with TV stations in Florida, Georgia and Ohio, we cross-referenced registered, absentee and early voters' names, addresses and birth dates. Nearly 57-thousand voters are registered in both of the key electoral states of Florida and Ohio. Another 42-thousand in Florida and Georgia; 12-thousand in Georgia and Ohio.
How could this possibly happen? What safeguards are in place to ensure that people can't vote in two states? I went to the State Capitol in Tallahassee to get answers.
Officials say the federal government has to link state databases, so people can't vote in two states. Southeastern states, including Florida, are now working on a pilot program to see if they can link their matches, but it's on hold until after the election.
Jennifer Davis, spokeswoman for Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning, says "Because they aren't linked, we don't have a way that would automatically let us know if someone is registered in more than one place."
Handel, the Georgia Secretary of State adds, "And I can tell you this: Once we conclude our investigation, if all of these allegations indeed bear out to be true, we will pursue this criminally."
It is not illegal to be registered in multiple states. When someone move to a new state, federal law gives them eight years to be removed from their old state's voting roles. The problem is if you actually vote more than once. That's a felony, punishable by up to three years in prison. In October, a Wisconsin man who voted twice was sentenced to nine months behind bars.
