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Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson is once again being accused of violating federal elections laws.

Common Cause Indiana in a federal lawsuit filed Friday calls for an injunction to be issued against Lawson, whom the political watchdog group accuses of unlawfully purging voters from state rolls.

Specifically, Common Cause challenges the new "Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck" system that allows election officials to immediately remove voters identified as having registered to vote in another state. The process finds a match based on first name, last name and date of birth.

Common Cause alleges that the crosscheck system contradicts the protections in the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, resulting in "nonuniform, discriminatory and illegal cancellations of Indiana voter registrations."

For example, one requirement of federal law says a state “shall not remove” a voter from its list of eligible voters due to change in residence unless the voter confirms a change in residence in writing or fails to respond to a notice sent by the state.

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The ACLU of Indiana, national ACLU and voting rights group Demos are representing Common Cause in the suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Common Cause's latest action is similar to a lawsuit filed by the Indiana NAACP and League of Women Voters in August.

The Indiana NAACP and League of Women Voters also allege that the state's crosscheck system on voter rolls violates federal law and is discriminatory.

In noting the similarity of the separate lawsuits, Common Cause Indiana's policy director says the issue warrants increased attention.

"There seems to be a move to restrict the right to vote rather than expand it," Julia Vaughn told IndyStar.

"We are disturbed by attempts to restrict access to vote, and we feel an obligation to the voters and state to say, 'No, you have to follow federal law.'"

Named defendants in the lawsuit are Lawson, J. Bradley King and Angela M. Nussmeyer, who are co-directors of the Indiana Election Division.

The secretary of state's office declined to speak with IndyStar regarding the lawsuit, citing a policy not to comment on pending litigation. A spokesman for the Indiana Election Division did not respond to IndyStar requests for comment.

Jan Mensz, an attorney at ACLU of Indiana, said crosscheck systems are on the rise nationally.

The issue of voter purges is one that many states are tackling.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hold oral arguments Nov. 8 in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, is accused of violating the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and disproportionately affecting black, Hispanic and poor voters who traditionally support Democrats.

The court will determine whether the failure to cast a ballot in recent elections, or "voter inactivity," can lawfully trigger efforts to remove a person from the voter registration rolls.

Common Cause sued the Indiana secretary of state in 2012 regarding the method with which Marion County's judges were nominated as candidates to fill judicial seats.

The case went to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, where a panel of judges determined the method was unconstitutional because it was tied to campaign contributions.

As a result of the case, the Indiana Legislature passed, and Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law, a merit-selection process for Marion County Superior Court judges.