I have been volunteering as an election worker in Johnson County since 2018, obtaining hands-on training and experience in administering our election laws in every election, including the Presidential Preference Primary in 2024. In 2019, I stepped into the assistant supervisor role on election day for the general. In 2022, I moved into the supervising judge position of my assigned polling location for the general. Working the last 15 elections has provided me with the opportunity to encounter a variety of different voting situations that range from registration issues to electioneering infractions to being able to help hundreds of first-time voters feel as comfortable as possible during a very important moment in their lives. Running a polling place requires the supervising judge to create a schedule, follow instructions closely for the opening and closing of the polling location, as well as keep up with management of the polling site throughout the voting period.

I plan to advocate for an extension of our advanced voting period to start 30 days out from election day to give our counties more time to process advanced mail ballots. This will change some deadlines (the June 1st filing deadline for candidates; the registration deadline prior to each election) but it’s a necessary update to maintain the integrity of our mail ballots for those who choose to use them. I will also promote the implementation of permanent mail ballot allowance for all, regardless of disability status (which you currently need to state the existence of to request a permanent advanced mail ballot).

Voter education is VERY important. I think this office should focus on finding better ways to help in those efforts using in-person events, social media platforms, and advertisements.

Election law violations should be prosecuted by the local authority entrusted to prosecute crimes committed within their county, possibly with the assistance of the state’s Attorney General.

Kansas has great processes in place, mandated by existing statutes, that maintain a high level of safety and security for our election systems. Voter ID laws, testing and balancing voting machines and other equipment prior to elections, mail ballot review and curing processes, and post-election audits are just a few elements of what make our elections very safe, secure, and still extremely accessible.

I believe the secretary of state should establish a partnership with each county government to ensure they are coordinating with their election officials on costs required to update security systems sufficiently. While the machines we utilize for voting throughout Kansas are not connected to the internet, there may be varying exposures to external connections in other portions of the election systems utilized from county to county, and we must do everything we can to maintain our voter privacy and security however we can.

I agree with Secretary Scott Schwab’s proposal to streamline campaign finance filing by sending reports directly to the Public Disclosure Commission instead of routing them through the Secretary of State’s office. Because the commission is a separate entity, there is little reason for the Secretary of State to be involved before public reporting. More details appear in the Kansas Reflector article, “Kansas secretary of state seeks to improve efficiency of filing campaign, lobbying reports,” published Oct. 21, 2025.

Many voters are disillusioned by the influence of money in politics. Kansas should explore public small-donor matching programs to help candidates spend their time connecting with constituents rather than wealthy, out-of-district or out-of-state donors as they campaign. I also support greater transparency in outside-group campaign disclosures, so voters know who is backing a candidate or constitutional amendment.

Kansas is one of 20 states that explicitly prohibits voting in more than one state, and it is a felony to do so. It is very rare that a voter will accept the risk of voting more than once in an election, and past policies put in place such as the “interstate cross-check program” implemented by former Kansas Secretary of State, Kris Kobach, proved to create a bigger problem of purging eligible voters at the expense of preventing miniscule levels of possible fraudulent actions.

Purging voters based on matching names, birth dates, or death records is risky. While county clerks work to keep voter rolls current, duplicate records have been removed using only names and birth dates, sometimes without considering the sex of the voter. Before removing anyone registered in two counties, officials should contact the voter to confirm whether they moved, registered again, or were misidentified as deceased because of a similar name.

As Secretary of State for Kansas, I will promote continuance of the security, accuracy, and safety of our elections. Kansas can serve as a model for voter access on a national stage by demonstrating that election integrity and voter access go hand in hand. Every eligible voter should have the opportunity to participate in our democracy, and the secretary of state’s office plays an important role in making that process clear, transparent, and efficient.

The role of our secretary of state should be largely focused on state-level administration matters, not seeking national headlines. If we’re recognized for anything, I hope it will be our exemplary service to those who need to interact with the office for voter information, business filings, and information on regulations and laws.

I'm an outsider to politics. I've had to learn how Kansas elections work by meeting with county election commissioners and clerks. I've already had to change some of what I originally wanted to do with the office as I gained a better understanding of the limits of the Secretary of State's budget. I admit I still have some catching up to do, and I have a plan to do it -- my goal of visiting the election of office of each of Kansas's 105 counties in person, in my first year in office. I've thrived at jobs with steep learning curves before.

If we could get our three-day grace period for mail-in ballots back, that would be great. Either way, we need to get ballots mailed out sooner. This is a balancing act; earlier ballots means less time for counties to process last-minute voter registration. But the timeline we have now is so tight it's almost setting up mail-in ballots to fail.

I want to keep us from losing more polling locations, fight against any last-minute or unnecessarily burdensome changes to voting, and keep as many avenues for voting and registration open as possible, so we don't have any bottlenecks in the system that can be exploited, such as how the state website went down just before the deadline not long ago.

Adding the role of prosecutor of violations I think was a politicized decision, but I'm willing to fulfil that duty all the same

First and foremost, make darn sure everyone uses and archives paper ballots. No computer is unhackable, but no cybercriminal can hack a piece of paper. Kansas is better insulated against cybercrime than most because our counties work independently, and don't all use the same voting machines with the same vulnerabilities. But that's no excuse to get complacent.

We need to take our own cybersecurity seriously. This can take the form of either establishing a cybersecurity department within the Secretary of State's office, or contracting with outside professionals. This may require asking for a budget increase.

I know a few people who work in information technology, and I've only started to learn the game myself. Likely this will be my next big priority after visiting every county.

On physical security, I'm worried about violence in our increasingly polarized society, and would like to work with county sheriffs to make sure every election site is discreetly protected.

I'm still learning about this one. I'm happy to say Kansas isn't nearly as much of a mess as the federal government is. We have campaign contribution limits, statements of substantial interest, and lobbyist registration at the $100+ level. Transparency is a major component of a healthy democracy. We may not be perfect, but we're ahead of the game.

A good foundation on direct campaign money regulation frees us up to start looking at more indirect ways big money plays with elections, like doing their own advertising for a candidate independent of that candidate's campaign, a loophole very intentionally preserved in line F of HB2054 (became law 10 April 2025)

Of the very few instances of voter fraud actually found, this interstate has proven itself valuable in catching them. I support it in that capacity.

That said, we live in an era when our right to privacy is under constant erosion, and I want to make sure the information in this database stays compartmentalized so that it is used to catch voter fraud, and nothing else.

The best thing I can do is lead by example. Let me post some photos of me visiting all 105 county election offices, and see if any other state's Secretary of State will do the same.

Knowing what works once we get our cybersecurity team going, I will be in a position to share knowledge with other states and help them get up to Kansas standards.

There is a not-so obvious trick as well. I can listen. I can admit when I don't already know everything, listen to advice from outside professionals, and integrate lessons that could be of use in Kansas. An honest humility isn't a glamorous tool, but it can be surprisingly useful.

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