Michigan Bureau of Elections bars Genesee County clerk from carrying out election duties
Michigan's Bureau of Elections Thursday barred Genesee County Clerk John Gleason from engaging in election administration activities after he was criminally charged in early April.
In a news release, the Secretary of State's Office billed the bureau's decision as a way "to ensure public trust in the county's elections."
Genesee County is among the 64 counties holding an election next Tuesday.
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Gleason was charged with bribing, intimidating and/or interfering with a witness and willful neglect of duty. Officials have said that the charges stem from his actions he took after an investigation was opened into a marriage he performed.
In a letter to Gleason, Michigan elections director Jonathan Brater directed the county's chief deputy clerk, Leslie Raleigh, to carry out Gleason's election duties.
The directive specifically prohibits Gleason from processing voter registration applications, handling any ballots, training election workers, reporting election results and carrying out post-election audits, among other election duties.
"Our legal system presumes that persons accused of criminal conduct are innocent until proven guilty and the criminal charges you currently face could eventually be resolved in your favor," Brater wrote. "However, allegations that you have intimidated a witness to interfere with an official proceeding and willfully failed to perform a legal duty threaten to fundamentally undermine voter confidence in the integrity of elections in Genesee County."
Brater wrote that the directive barring Gleason's participation in election administration in the county would remain in effect until the county clerk is acquitted, the charges are dismissed or the bureau terminates its directive against Gleason.
Staff writer Paul Egan contributed to this report.
Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Genesee County Clerk John Gleason barred from election duties
