Republican Secretary of State Connie Lawson told a committee of state lawmakers Wednesday that she doesn't see a correlation between early voting access and voter turnout.

The statement comes a few weeks after an IndyStar investigation found that state and local Republicans have expanded early voting in GOP-dominated areas and restricted it in Democratic areas.

Common Cause Indiana, the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP and the local NAACP Branch, filed a lawsuit in May against the Marion County Election Board and Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson, due to the scarcity of early voting locations in Marion County.

In the lawsuit, the organization said the lack of early voting opportunities discriminates against African-American voters and violates the constitution.

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But Lawson argued Wednesday to an Indiana legislative committee reviewing election laws that early voting access benefited people who would have voted regardless.

"We’re trying to reach the infrequent voters," Lawson said. "The early voting really effects (frequent voters) more; it affects when they vote. What affects an increase of voters is the ease of voting on election day."

Democrats were quick to criticize Lawson's statement, pointing to the higher voter turnout rate in Hamilton County than in Marion County. Hamilton County now has three early voting locations, while Marion only has one.

"Lawson is either overlooking the obvious or she’s providing cover for Republicans who continue to play politics with early voting," said Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody. "If there’s no correlation, as Secretary Lawson suggests, why are places like Hamilton County expanding locations? Convenience."

Overall voter turnout has increased by 20.9 percent in Hamilton County and decreased by 2.9 percent in Marion County since 2008 when local officials started expanding early voting locations in Hamilton County and reducing them in Marion County. Some of that growth in Hamilton County, however, could be attributed in part to population growth.

Angela Nussmeyer, the Democrat co-director of the Indiana Elections Division, said counties that increased satellite early-voting locations in Indiana typically saw increased voter turnout.

"I would argue that voters are literally demonstrating with their feet that having more sites accessible to individuals at convenient times does have an impact to voting," Nussmeyer said.

However, Wendy Underhill, a representative from the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislators, echoed Lawson's sentiment that the statistics don't confirm a correlation.

"That makes a lot of common sense, but so far I don't see research that proves that point," Underhill said. "What we see is that people who would have voted on election day spread their votes out during the election season primarily."

Lawson reported that a record-setting number of ballots were cast in Indiana during the presidential election during Wednesday's meeting. Still, Indiana is notorious for its historically low voter turnout statewide on a percentage basis.

Only 58 percent of those eligible to vote in Indiana cast a ballot in 2016, the 10th lowest rate of the 50 states. Lawson said the turnout rate would have been much higher had the state cleaned its voter rolls prior to the 2016 election.

Democrats have long criticized Lawson and her fellow GOP lawmakers for "limiting the right to vote" and negatively impacting voter turnout.

Indiana has the earliest poll closing time in the country and those wishing to vote using a mail-in absentee ballot are required to have an excuse. Lawson also championed one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country when it passed in 2005.

However, Lawson has advocated for a number of laws that have increased voter access as well, such as a bill that allows in-person early voting without an excuse and one that created county vote centers, where people can cast a ballot regardless of precinct.

Lawson strongly argued that voter turnout isn't as dependent on access as other factors.

“It’s the candidates and the issues that drive the turnout," Lawson said.

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at (317) 432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.

Call IndyStar reporter Fatima Hussein at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @fatimathefatima.