State auditor Les Merritt said today that the State Board of Elections created the appearance of a conflict of interest when it hired the spouse of a top official.

Merritt's report concerns Johnnie McLean, chief deputy director of the State Board of Elections, and her husband, who was hired in March as a temporary voting equipment employee. Merritt found that McLean was not supervising her husband, Robert McLean, and that since he was a temporary employee, state law did not specifically bar the board from hiring him.

However, the state personnel office "recommends that state agencies also attempt to avoid nepotism when hiring temporary employees," Merritt wrote. "We recommend that the Board of Elections avoid hiring related temporary employees in the future to prevent the appearance of a conflict of interest."

On April 21, Robert McLean's assignment with the board ended, Gary Bartlett, executive director of the elections board, wrote in his response to Merritt's report. Bartlett wrote that the state's temporary employment agency twice told Robert McLean that he could work for the board if he didn't report to his wife.

In December, Johnnie McLean had previously asked the Office of State Personnel whether her son-in-law could work for the elections board. The office said that he would not be able to work for the board and he never applied, according to Merritt's report.

Merritt's office received an anonymous tip that led to the investigation.

Johnnie McLean said Tuesday an investigator from Merritt's office told her that there were at least two other allegations made against her. The fact that those were not included in Merritt's report shows the tipster was wrong, she said.

"All of the allegations are not related in the report," she said. "That just indicates further the baselessness of the entire anonymous complaint."

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.