State officials are trying to determine why there are more voter identification cards being issued in Richmond County than in nearly every other county in the state.

In the two years since a law requiring photo ID at the polls was enacted, Richmond County has issued more of the free IDs than more populated communities, such as Chatham and Gwinnett counties, officials said. Lynn Bailey, the executive director of the Richmond County Board of Elections, said an investigator from the Georgia secretary of state's office has visited the county because people are suspected of using the cards at banks and businesses as a form of identification.

"(We've had) more than DeKalb, more than Gwinnett, more than any other of the big metro counties," Mrs. Bailey said. "I think that's kind of raised some red flags here and there."

Since the state began making the voter ID cards in June 2006, 1,713 have been issued in Richmond County. That number is topped only by Fulton County, with 1,952 issued.

Individuals can get the cards for free from their local registrar's office by simply swearing under oath that they are registered voters and do not have a driver's license. Those caught lying can be subject to felony charges of perjury and voter ID fraud, according to Richmond County sheriff's Investigator Michelle Walden.

"I suspect there are people using the voter ID cards for purposes other than voting," Mrs. Bailey said. "If anyone is using those cards for any other reason or if any business is accepting those cards as proof of ID, then both of those individuals are in violation of the law."

Matt Carrothers, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office, confirmed an investigation but refused to provide details because it was ongoing.

Mrs. Bailey partly blames the problem on the proximity of the registrar's office to homeless shelters, claiming that people might be getting the free IDs because they have no other form of identification.