Today, we’re publishing candidates’ responses to the following question:
The top issue for many Post readers remains candidates’ stances on the 2020 election, which former President Trump continues to claim without evidence was stolen from him. That has played out in Johnson County with a years-long and ultimately fruitless investigation by the current sheriff into local election procedures. Many of our readers express concern that that investigation has sown distrust in local elections. Do you believe President Biden won the 2020 election fair and square? Do you trust and have confidence in county and state election systems? If elected, would you support legislation that, in any way, would modify or place new restrictions on voting in Kansas?
Below are the answers the Post received from candidates on the issue:
District 28
Carl Turner (Republican, incumbent)
The distrust goes back further. One side didn’t like the outcome of the 2016 election so there were years of fruitless investigations. Then the other side didn’t like the outcome of the 2020 election so there were more fruitless investigations. Trump won in 2016 and Biden won in 2020.
Regarding our election systems in Kansas, it is secure and I support steps to keep them secure. I continue to listen to state and local election officials and what changes may improve things for them.
Ace Allen (Democratic)
Yes, Biden won the election fair and square. Trump lost every single one of the over 60 court cases challenging the election–right up to the Supreme Court level. His accusations were groundless. There was no conspiracy to sway the election results toward Biden.
We should be fighting to make voting more accessible. Why? Because our representative democracy depends on full input from the people who are represented. It is already an extraordinarily trustworthy process, and it is a slap in the face to the honest, hard-working patriots of both parties who are our election workers. Talk to one of them (call me for references!) and they’ll explain why the process is extraordinarily high-integrity and secure.
In Kansas, there is flat-out no evidence of meaningful voter fraud. Indeed, our Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab expressed his disgust concerning “the lies about the lack of integrity in Kansas elections.” Sheriff Calvin Hayden’s feckless, fruitless investigation of voter fraud led to his near-landslide election loss on Aug. 6. Since 2005, there have been exactly 18 convictions of voter fraud in Kansas–on average, one per year–out of multiple millions of votes cast. The last conviction was in 2021. Parenthetically, in the 2 cases where a political party was identified, both were Republicans.
