Six months after receiving the Ohio Secretary of State’s findings about a possible attempt at voter fraud in the county, the Ohio Attorney General’s office says the investigation remains ongoing and active.

In July Secretary of State Jon Husted turned over his research into the investigation to Attorney General Mike DeWine and County Prosecutor J.B. Collier.

At that time Husted said, “There was an attempt to violate the election law with the attempt to cast and count fraudulent votes.”

At issue are applications for absentee ballots that were sent to two post office boxes — 42 were sent to an Ironton box and 77 to a box in Chesapeake during the fall of 2010.

In the fall of 2012, a board of elections employee noticed that the handwriting in the “Send Ballot To” portion of the applications differed from that in the section with the voter’s name. The board then contacted 10 voters to see where they wanted their ballots sent. All 10 reported that they had wanted their ballots sent to their home.

Husted sent agents to the county to take affidavits from residents. In November DeWine sent additional agents from his office to continue the investigation.

Violations of these election laws are fourth-degree felonies, carrying maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine for each conviction.

When asked if there has a timetable on when a determination would be made if the investigation’s findings would go to a grand jury, Dan Tierney of DeWine’s office said, “We can’t comment on the investigation,” Tierney said. “It is ongoing. It is an active investigation.”