Voter fraud at fore in Clark County auditor’s race

With allegations of voter fraud and stolen elections still resonating with some voters, this year’s race for Clark County auditor has, in many ways, become a referendum on election security and integrity.

In a typical election year, the county auditor race attracts little attention and even fewer challengers. But this is not a typical election year, and the race between incumbent Greg Kimsey and challenger Brett Simpson has remained at the forefront of voters’ minds.

Kimsey has been Clark County’s auditor for nearly 24 years. Simpson is new to the political arena, which he says is exactly what the county needs.

In an interview Monday, Kimsey said he decided to seek another term in office to “ensure that elections in Clark County continue to be conducted in a safe, secure, transparent and accountable manner, producing accurate results.”

Simpson’s focus is almost entirely based on election security. When asked during the League of Women Voters’ Sept. 26 candidate forum if Clark County’s elections were secure, Simpson said his evidence, which is “based on math and statistics,” shows “we have massive amounts of fraud in our elections.”

Simpson has often repeated those claims — on his website, at political rallies and during candidate forums — and that Kimsey illegally “flipped” votes for Donald Trump to Joe Biden during the 2020 election.

Kimsey said those claims simply aren’t true, adding there is absolutely no evidence of any wrongdoing by him or anyone in the county elections office.

“We understand that elections are the foundation on which our government rests,” he said.

Kimsey said every employee and volunteer in the county elections office is absolutely committed to conducting elections with the highest level of integrity.

“There are numerous steps and controls that are in place to ensure the accuracy and the security of the elections process,” he added.

Simpson’s claims haven’t held up in court, either. A federal judge recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Washington Integrity Coalition United, in which Simpson was one of 34 plaintiffs named in the case. Simpson also filed suit against Kimsey in Clark County Superior Court over nonpartisan races included on the August primary ballot. On Sept. 30, that lawsuit also was dismissed.

The two candidates have differing ideas on what it means to be the county auditor. During the candidate forum, Simpson said “95 percent of the job … is for elections. The elections are the No. 1 thing, and it’s the most important thing. If we don’t have fair and free elections, then we don’t have anything.”

While Simpson said he understands what the other responsibilities of the county auditor are, they are not as important.

“The other issues almost become like saying, ‘I need to worry about cleaning toilet even though the house is on fire.’ No, we need to put out the house fire first,” Simpson said during the forum.

While elections and election security have grabbed much of the spotlight the last two years, Kimsey said those other responsibilities are just as important and vital for county government’s overall financial health.

“The auditor serves as the primary financial officer for county government,” he said. “We keep track of where over $700 million a year comes from and what it’s spent on. We report financial results to the public and the financial condition of the county to the public.”

Kimsey said that in an average year, elections takes up about half his time, with the other half going to managing payroll for the county’s nearly 2,000 employees, paying the county’s bills, conducting performance audits, recording legal documents and issuing marriage licenses.

“Of the 44 full-time employees in the auditor’s office, only six of those employees work in elections,” Kimsey said; the largest group of employees works in financial services.

The two candidates are closer in their fundraising efforts than they are on the campaign trail. Kimsey has raised over $59,000 while Simpson has raised more than $43,000, with most of the contributions for both candidates coming from individual donors.

Kimsey appears to have received far more endorsements than his challenger. He has been endorsed by former Washington secretaries of state Sam Reed and Ralph Munro, Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, several unions, and dozens of Democratic and Republican state and local lawmakers. Simpson has been endorsed by the Clark County Republican Party and People United for Clark County.

Simpson did not respond to requests to be interviewed for this story. He also declined to meet with The Columbian’s editorial board.