INDIANAPOLIS | Indiana's top elections official is calling for an investigation into more than 2,000 invalid voter registrations filed in Lake County by ACORN, a nonprofit group cited for similar problems in other states.

Secretary of State Todd Rokita said he has "secured credible evidence of fraud" and sent letters Friday asking the Indiana attorney general and Lake County prosecutor to join him in launching a review. Rokita said he also contacted federal prosecutors.

"There looks to be some felonious actions taken here," Rokita told reporters. "I think the message to the voters and taxpayers of this state is that we're watching, and we're not going to tolerate the kind of behavior in the state."

ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, said it has registered more than 1.3 million voters nationwide, including more than 23,000 in Indiana. The group, which supports Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, claims it is being unfairly persecuted.

"We ourselves identified approximately 2,100 cards in Lake County that we believe were problematic," ACORN spokesman Brian Kettenring said Friday. "We are the victim here because we have identified the problem, and now certain interests are turning that information against us."

Kettenring said most states require groups to turn in every voter registration solicited, which is why ACORN separated the suspect registration forms.

One form bore the name of a Gary man who died last year while another attempted to register the Jimmy John's sandwich shop in Crown Point.

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker dismissed the call to action by Rokita, a Republican, as partisan "fear mongering."

"This is typical for Todd Rokita," Parker said. "The facts in this case are that the system worked. The director of elections in Lake County caught any bad registrations that were turned in. They were not processed. They were not added to the rolls, and no one received a ballot."

Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter, a Democrat, said he was "gravely dismayed and greatly angered' by the suspect registrations.

"I will be in contact and confer with all relevant parties to fully investigate this activity and take all and any necessary action to prosecute any wrongdoing," he said.

A spokeswoman said Republican Attorney General Steve Carter is reviewing Rokita's request.