Flint, MI – The Genesee County Jail is set to host a forum for detainees and members of the public to meet candidates running for judicial positions in the Nov. 8 general election.
The event will be held at the county jail on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, at 10 a.m.
According to a media release from the Voting Access for All Coalition (VAAC), all judicial candidates were invited to the forum. Those candidates include judges running for the Michigan Supreme Court, Michigan’s Second District Court of Appeals and the 7th Circuit Court.
Michigan Supreme Court candidates Richard Bernstein, Kyra Bolden and Paul Hudson will attend the forum, but Kerry Lee Morgan and Brian Zahra, whose names are also listed on the ballot, will not. All candidates running for a position on the court of appeals–Sima Patel and Michael Warren–and the non-incumbent position at the circuit court–Mary Hood and Dawn Weier–will appear.
This will be the third candidate forum held at the Genesee County Jail. The event is the result of a partnership between VAAC, the Genesee County Ambassadors, Nation Outside and Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson.
The advisory says that voter education is part of the Genesee County Jail’s IGNITE (Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education) program.
“Many Michiganders who are eligible to exercise their freedom to vote are denied the help and access they need to cast a ballot while incarcerated in jail,” the release states. “This is really about changing the culture of what happens inside the Genesee County Jail and ensuring that detainees know that they not only have a vote, but also a voice.”
The forum is open to members of the public, but to ensure that there is enough seating available, VAAC member Percy Glover requested that people wishing to attend contact him first at percy.glover@outlook.com or 810-210-4041.
The forum will also be livestreamed on the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.