CLEVELAND -- A 5 On Your Side investigation confirmed that Cuyahoga County mailed tens of thousands of vote-by-mail applications to people who no longer live in the county.

The board of elections sent nearly 42,000 absentee ballot applications to voters outside the county, and some worry that it could trigger double voting, reported chief investigator Duane Pohlman.

Joe Becker, a teacher at Case Western Reserve University, said he is concerned the mailers might lead to mistakes, even fraud.

Becker's parents and sister, who moved to Medina County years ago, all received a vote-by-mail application from Cuyahoga County.

The Board of Elections said it sent 41,697 absentee ballot applications out of county, one to every voter who moved from Cuyahoga County to a new address in another county.

BOE director Jane Platten said it's because internal systems would catch any out-of-county request.

Platten agrees that the mailings might muddy things by creating confusion.

The BOE said it will monitor all requests more closely. Anyone who lives out of county and receives a Cuyahoga County application should disregard.