County Clerk debate addresses election integrity and voter turnout

By RORY MOORE

Tiger Media Network

Monday’s Ellis County Clerk election forum featured a debate between incumbent and current County Clerk Bobbi Dreiling of the Republican Party and challenger Laura Allen of the Democratic Party. The debate was hosted at the Hays Public Library and allowed constituents to learn about the candidates’ positions on varying matters. 

Dreiling, who has been in office since 2021, highlighted her work as county clerk and touted the electoral process in Ellis County in her opening remarks.

“In the last three and a half years, I’ve proven I can run a great office,” she said. “Our elections have been free, fair, secure, and everything I’ve done that goes along with being a clerk, setting values in June, setting taxes in November, I’ve done that with 100% accuracy.”

Allen, who previously ran as a write-in candidate in 2020, rebuked Dreiling’s stance.

“If you look at our election statistics, more often than not in Ellis County, races are uncontested,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like much of an election to me, and activities like this are made impossible. I don’t think that just knowing what’s happening now is something that can’t be done in the future. Change is not always bad, and sometimes, to grow, we have to change a little bit.”

In the questions-and-answers portion of the debate, both candidates were asked about the priorities for the County Clerk position.

“The Clerk’s office doesn’t always focus solely on elections,” Dreiling said. “Other priorities are setting the values because those values go out to every taxing entity in Ellis County so they can figure their budgets for the coming year. When I set the levy in November, those things affect every taxpayer, and if those statements go out and they’re incorrect, they have to be done and remailed out.”

For Allen, the most critical responsibility of the position is availability.

“I think that the biggest priority for any position that’s similar to the County Clerk is to make sure the public knows you’re there and open to their questions, criticisms, and suggestions they may have,” she said. “Knowing that you are able to talk to somebody is a priority for any public position.”

Regarding election security, the question of whether paper ballots are more accurate than electronic ballots was asked.

“We have to make sure that we’re not separating one from the other,” Allen said. “When I cast my ballot, I fill in the dots just like I always have, which is still read by a ballot reader and a piece of technology. It’s important to make sure the ballots are correct in either situation and to have enough people to make sure that those counts are correct, which doesn’t necessarily have to do anything with just ballot or paper. They have to work hand-in-hand with the correct input and people overseeing it to make sure they’re correct.”

Dreiling took a different approach to her answer.

“I would say 100% paper ballots are more accurate than any electronic machine that we’ve had in the past,” she said. “We have what we call the Express Vote for ADA purposes. So, people who have any kind of disability are able to vote on the ADA. I have a lot of voters who are voting on that because they love it. They hate filling in those little dots. With the Express Voting touch screen, it is a paper ballot as well. The minute that ballot comes out of that machine, you are assured that you can look at your choices.”

Both candidates were asked about the topic of election integrity, which has been a pressing issue over the last four years since claims of voter fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election were made.

“I don’t think fraud is a huge concern,” Allen said. “One thing that I don’t question is that our elections are pretty fair and secure, and whether that comes from a higher office or the County Clerk, I don’t think that’s something I question.”

Dreiling took a balanced approach to the question while assuring the validity of voting in Ellis County elections.

“I don’t have any reason to believe that there’s election fraud because I don’t have any proof,” she said. “You read what you read on social media, you hear what you hear on the local news, you hear what you hear on the national news. The one thing I can tell everybody here, Ellis County has one of the most secure election processes that you’ll ever find. I invite people to come in and talk with me so I can show them that process. There is no voter fraud (in Ellis County), nor will there ever be.”

Mail-in-voting begins on Wednesday, while early in-person voting will take place from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1 at the Ellis County Administrative Center on 718 Main.