Suspended Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader will not be on the November ballot, according to his Facebook post that appeared Friday. Reader wrote that 22 of the signatures he collected to qualify for the ballot were rejected by elections officials.
The Pike County Board of Elections confirmed that account, saying that in some cases, addresses or signatures didn’t match what they had on file, and others weren’t registered to vote.
Reader added that “This is simply a oversight in the election laws versus being truthful when circulating a petition.”
Reader has been suspended from his position as sheriff since July 2019 as he faces nearly 20 charges including theft in office, tampering with evidence and a pattern of corrupt activity. Reader has pleaded not guilty to those charges and voluntarily agreed to his suspension.