Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

The Livingston County Clerk has disqualified state Rep. Bob Bezotte from the ballot as a candidate seeking re-election in the 50th District, and "will not certify his name to the Livingston County Board of Election Commissioners."

That's the ruling from Clerk Elizabeth Hundley who concluded "Mr. Bezotte’s recitation of his residential address on the Affidavit of Identity was false.

"He did not provide any evidence that the stated residential address was his actual residential address in light of the challenge, did not state what his actual residential address is, and did not provide any evidence that his actual residential address is within the electoral district."

The challenge was raised by Daniel Wholihan in letter dated April 24, 2024, alleging that the statement of Mr. Bezotte’s residential address on his Affidavit of Identity was false. The challenge was supported by a sworn statement by Shelia Bezotte.

You can read the Clerk's full letter below.

Lawyers for Rep. Bezotte argued the complaint was "facially without merit," and "an unfortunate waste of public resources that attempts to exploit" their client's "ongoing family matter."


The following statement was provided on behalf of Bezotte:

"I have been a Howell resident for close to three decades. My candidate filing followed the law, and my filing to the county clerk in response this week was crystal clear. This decision is an obvious misreading of both the text and the spirit of the law that mistakenly takes away options from the voters I serve. It must be fixed. I am accused of living at an address that I explicitly wrote on my affidavit of identity, that is 3 miles away from the home I own together with my wife, and is within the district. This isn't how certification is supposed to work at all. I look forward to getting this resolved once and for all in court and moving forward with my campaign to represent this community once again."