The U.S. Justice Department is &uot;looking into&uot; the controversy over a misplaced box of Adams County voter’s applications.

&uot;We are aware of the matter and are looking into it,&uot;&160;said Cara Peterman, a Justice Department spokeswoman. The department is looking to see if further action is necessary, she added.

The box in question is said to have contained around 200 voter applications filled out just prior to the November 1999 election. It also contained some change of address forms. The forms apparently were set aside and not processed until courthouse workers found the box this spring. How that happened and when and where the box were placed aside and subsequently found are part of the controversy.

Beverly Merrill, executive with the Democrat party said she is upset because the system did not work, impacting the rights of voters.

&uot;I’m here for the voters. I’m here for the process,&uot; Merrill said. &uot;I’m here to make sure the law is followed.&uot;

Adams&160;County Circuit Clerk M.L. &uot;Binkey&uot; Vines said employees found the box in the circuit clerk’s personal office this year.

But officials with the Adams&160;County election commission say they found the box in their office across the hall from the circuit clerk’s office.

To help sort out the confusion, Vines, who took office Jan. 1, said his office is looking into the matter.

&uot;My investigation is still going on. I’m interviewing present and past employees,&uot; he said. &uot;(The community) wants to know and I want to know.&uot;

Merrill and Vines want to know why the box was set aside under a table and why it was not taken to the election commission’s office to be processed in a timely manner.

&uot;What if we had never found the box?&uot; Vines said.

The voter applications found in the box were submitted after the deadline to be eligible to vote in the November 1999 election. But whether any of the voters attempted to vote in the March &uot;Super Tuesday&uot; election is not certain.

Election commission officials have said all of the applications were entered in time for May city elections.