Wyoming PBS Wyoming Public Media and Cowboy State Daily present Vote 2026: The Wyoming Secretary of State Republican primary debate live from the Little Theater on the campus of Central Wyoming College.

Greetings viewers, audience members and candidates.

I'm Steve Peck, public affairs producer for Wyoming PBS.

And welcome to today's Republican primary debate among candidates for Wyoming Secretary of State.

That seat currently is held by Chuck Gray, a Republican.

He's not seeking reelection because he's running for the United States House of Representatives.

The primary election is Tuesday, August 18th.

You heard our debate partners during the opening sequence of the debate.

And tonight we add our thanks to Central Wyoming College and its president, Dr.

Brad Tyndall, for hosting us tonight.

All ballot eligible candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties were invited to take part in the debate.

Four Republicans accepted that invitation and are on stage now.

On the Democratic Party side, there is just one ballot eligible candidate.

So there will be no Democratic primary debate.

This debate is being aired and streamed live by Wyoming PBS and Wyoming Public Media.

Our debate comprises five segments.

First, a preview question was sent more than 24 hours ago to all four participants.

I will ask that question shortly to open the debate, and each candidate can respond for as long as 90s.

The candidates will respond from left to right as you see them, an order determined before the debate in a random drawing backstage in which the candidates participated.

Next, our panelists will ask three questions in sequence to the full slate of candidates.

Each candidate, in turn will answer the same question again with 90s to respond, the candidate who responded second to the initial preview question will respond first to the opening all panel question, and each subsequent response will move down the line in turn.

Third, we'll devote approximately eight minutes to a short answer lightning round, with each candidate responding to a brief prompt from the panel with 15 seconds allotted per response We expect to have time for about ten lightning round cues.

Fourth our panelists will ask one round of individual questions.

That is a different question for each candidate.

The initial answers are limited to 60s, after which each remaining candidate in line will be permitted up to 20s to respond or rebut to the first candidate.

Then the initial respondent will have a final 15 seconds to follow up if desired.

As always, we'll proceed down the line in order so that a different candidate goes first with each new question.

Finally, each candidate has 45 seconds for a closing statement.

The closing statements will proceed in reverse order from the initial preview question that opened the debate.

In a joint briefing before the debate, we reminded candidates that we expect and require civil conduct and decorum during the debate.

Im the moderator and also a questioning panelist tonight.

Our remaining panel consists of two experienced Wyoming journalists, Clair McFarland, reporter for Cowboy State Daily.

Immediately to my left, and Melodie Edwards of Wyoming Public Media.

And this note, Wyoming Public Media and Wyoming PBS have similar names and we are friendly partners in tonight's debate.

Otherwise we are separate and unaffiliated organizations with different staff, different management, different licensing, different facilities, different locations.

The timer for the debate is Ryan Schuckman of Wyoming PBS.

He will operate a visual timing device representing a traffic light, which you can see.

Timing begins when a candidate begins speaking.

When 10 seconds of the allotted time remains, a yellow light will appear.

When five seconds remain, the yellow light will flash.

When the allotted time is expired and the red light appears, an alert also will sound, and I will advise the candidates to stop.

Reasonable allowances, for example, to complete a sentence will be permitted.

But candidates, please don't abuse that flexibility.

Now we meet the candidates for U.S.

House of Representatives participating in tonight's debate.

Introduced from left to right.

Secretary of State.

I'm sorry, Secretary of State.

Thank you.

Robert Short, Converse County Commissioner.

Rachel Williams, member of the Wyoming Legislature.

House of Representatives.

CJ Young, businessman and member of the U.S.

Navy Reserve.

And Qwenton Oviatt, academic counselor.

Now, we begin.

Each candidate was sent the following preview question yesterday.

Candidates, certified election statistics show that younger voters don't vote in high percentages in Wyoming.

In 2024, about 40% of Wyoming's total election vote came from voters ages 50 and older, with far smaller portions from younger voters.

In fact, more than 85% of registered voters aged 70 and older voted, while only about 20% of voters ages 18 to 29 cast ballots.

You're running for secretary of state, whose office conducts Wyoming elections.

What might be done to increase interest and turnout among Wyoming's younger voters?

Mr.

Short 90s.

Thank you for the question and thanks for hosting this debate.

Wyoming voters obviously take very seriously the importance of casting their ballots in ways that are meaningful.

Our young people for a long time have felt disenfranchized because it seems their voices aren't being heard.

Some of that may revolve around they feel that there are no opportunities for them in this state.

And I think one of the key ingredients is going to be for us to find ways to enhance economic opportunities for young people, so that they do have an interest in what happens in our state, so that they will go to the ballot box to cast a vote for the person that they believe actually has their interests at heart, rather than just marking a bubble with a name next to it, because it's their civic duty, we need to engage them.

We need to engage them where they are.

We need to engage them in classrooms.

We need to engage them on campuses.

We need to engage them in coffee shops and any place where they want to be, rather than asking them to come to us.

It's imperative that we reach out and extend that invitation to tell us what's important to them.

Because if I'm not felt heard, there's not really much interest in me expressing to you what I believe is a path forward.

And so, as Secretary of State, I will embark upon an educational opportunity with young people to help them understand their voices matter and to meet them where they're at, rather than forcing them to meet me where I stand.

Thank you, Miss Williams 90s.

Thank you for the question and PBS for hosting this debate.

I believe that there are many national organizations and organizations within the state of Wyoming that focus on getting out the vote.

Our youth are motivated.

They're intelligent and they're ambitious.

I've seen it firsthand during my time in the legislature.

I believe it's the role of the candidates to inspire, to encourage young folks to get out and vote.

I can tell you as a mom.

My daughter's voting for the very first time this year, and my 13 year old can't wait to vote.

But he can tell you everything about every candidate on the ballot.

I bring a unique sense of enthusiasm and energy as your next Secretary of State, I've had the opportunity to fight for young people within this state to help mobilize future clubs that focus on civics and First Amendment rights.

I've had the opportunity to speak in high schools for Turning Point organizations.

In our community colleges, for Turning Point organizations, and interact with the University of Wyoming students as well, carrying out the mission of Charlie Kirk.

Thank you, Mr.

Young 90s.

Yes.

Well, thank you very much to PBS and everyone for being here, the audience and everyone watching tonight.

I'm glad everyone's tuning in and coming out to learn more.

So having been the past elections director, we worked on a Get Out the Vote campaign.

That is something that we put effort into, but I think it's something that we can work towards improving to get out that message to our younger voters across the state, finding new ways to reach them, finding ways to get messaging to them that shows them that their vote matters.

And boy, does it matter.

We especially see that the further you move down on that ballot to those local races, sometimes those are decided by just a few votes.

And so their vote absolutely matters.

So we need to work to get that to them.

And I want to work with young people in our office and bring in others that can help add that advice on how do we do that more effectively.

I think another important thing, and it's been mentioned already on this stage is that we need to broadly look at how do we keep our young people in the state.

We need to make sure that they have the jobs and opportunity to stay and work here.

That's something I would focus on, is making sure they have that opportunity to stay here, buy a home, raise a family of their own here.

I think that's imperative.

I do a lot of work with a wonderful program called Civil Air Patrol.

We have a cadet program.

It's something I'm passionate about.

So I work with young people on a daily basis in that program.

And one of the things I often hear is they want to know why.

They want to know why something happens or why it matters.

And so really getting in and getting that explanation to them so that they understand why their vote matters and why it's important for them to participate in their own system of government.

Thank you, Mr.

Oviatt.

90s all right.

Well, thanks again for having me.

I want to start by saying I'm a huge supporter of PBS and my personal life and public media in general.

So to answer this question, this is one of the main reasons that I got into this race.

I work right here at CWC as an academic advisor, and I talk with young people every day, and they care about the issues, but they feel that the system here is broken.

Our Wyoming primaries were initially designed in order to give voters more choice, but through recent legislation, they've essentially become the the the voting version of gerrymandered.

And that's not the way that it should be.

From talking to young people, they don't want to register as a Republican or Democrat.

They don't want to label themselves that way.

And that's really unfortunate because they have to, if they want to participate in our primaries.

So we need what we need to do is we need to educate our citizens and open up our primaries.

If that's what the voters want.

And we need to provide opportunities to them, such as ranked choice voting and educate them about that and let them know if that's what they want, rather than just telling them that they don't believe that the people of Wyoming are smart enough to understand ranked choice voting.

That's, that's just crazy.

We also need to actively engage in social media.

We need to engage all voters, especially through that social media.

We need to make voting easier.

And we need to meet the the young people where they are.

That's where we that's where they are.

And that's where we need to meet them.

So we need to fix the primary system and we need to get them engaged.

Thank you.

Candidates, Thank you.

We next move on to our series of all panel question There'll be four of these.

Beginning with Clair McFarland.

And Miss Williams, you're the first respondent.

The Secretary of State manages business filings and routinely interacts with the legislature regarding business law.

Should the legislature tighten our business laws, and if so, how do you offset that with privacy protections?

90s.

Wyoming needs a Secretary of State that understands small businesses and the impact that fraud has on the state of Wyoming.

I am uniquely positioned, given my experience to to observe and to tackle unlawful acts, I believe there is a fine balance.

Wyoming is low regulations, low taxes, which makes access for businesses.

Very attractive.

I believe that there is a balance and.

Wyoming the Secretary of State's office to modernize our software system.

That's one of my goals as next Secretary of State, so that we can prevent fraud, identify it, and be more preventative as well.

Well pause for a moment to remedy an audio situation with Williams microphone.

Apologies.

Okay.

Steve.

Go ahead.

Okay.

Our next question with Mr.

Young.

The first respond comes from Melodie Edwards.

Does that not all panel question.

That I just oh, I'm sorry.

Forgive me.

Mr.

Young the same question to you, sir.

90s.

Thank you.

Okay.

No, thank you for the question.

So in short.

I don't believe we need to do away with all of the privacy in order to combat fraud.

I think that the Secretary of State's office, we generate a tremendous amount of revenue in our state.

It's an agency that generates revenue in those business filings.

And I think that's important for our state.

We're the second highest after Delaware in our business filings.

That's a big deal in the United States.

So I think we want to keep that, but we do want to combat fraud.

That's something that I want to focus on, and we can do a lot more on the back end, behind the scenes that's combating that fraud without driving businesses away.

It's been mentioned modernization of the software.

The office really needs that modernization makes it easier for people to file.

It's less labor intensive on our staff so they can focus more on customer service.

Additionally, it does help flag bad actors so that a person can look at it.

Then you build that partnership with law enforcement and with the attorney general's office by having good relations, and then you bring those cases to them so you can root out those bad actors.

So I think that's absolutely critical.

And in general, I want to keep Wyoming as business friendly as possible.

I want to work on our website.

I want to work on our programs to make it easier.

One of the things I want to do is make a one stop shop web page where when you're filing a new business, you're opening your own thing.

Not only do you file with us, but we can link you into where you go next and make that as easy and fast a journey for you as possible.

Thank you.

Thank you sir.

Mr.

Oviatt 90s same question.

All right.

Yes.

Thank you.

Well, the fact of the matter is there are a lot and I mean, a lot of bad actors out there that are taking advantage of Wyoming's lax business laws.

But we can't have it both ways.

We can make our, our laws harder for them to take advantage of it while still making it easy for legitimate entrepreneurs to still bring their businesses to Wyoming and to file here.

I'm glad to hear some of these other ideas out here that, yes, we need to modernize the software that should have been done already.

That shouldn't even be an issue we're talking about on this campaign.

It's surprising that that hasn't been done already.

But once that's done, yes, it makes it.

It'll make it easier on the front end.

We won't have this automatic approval of, of everyone.

And then and then sorting it out later, we'll be able to flag these potential bad actors early on, and then we can work on it from the back end too, well, because human error, people are going to slip, slip through, and these bad actors are getting better and better every day.

You know, the as we get better, they're going to get better too.

So we have to maintain vigilance on that and then have someone actually in the Secretary of State's office whose job it is to maintain that vigilance and to follow up and look at all these once they have been flagged, do the research, do the legwork so that then they can be the ones to take that information, run it to the law enforcement so that local law enforcement is not being tasked with this, getting phone calls left and right day and night.

And yeah, they can turn that over to whoever it is, local law enforcement, sheriff's department, FBI and actually stop this from happening.

We can have it both ways.

Thank you.

Mr.

Short.

90s.

Thank you.

As an entrepreneur in Wyoming, I've built multiple businesses from the ground up and have had to work with the Secretary of State's office, both for initial filings and for annual filings.

It can be a little arduous.

Beyond that, obviously, our laws allow for registered agents to be a representative for alien or foreign corporations in our state.

And therein lies one of the biggest conundrums we face.

Of course, we want to have businesses move to Wyoming.

Unfortunately, those businesses can utilize a registered agent as the last stop and therefore they don't become accountable.

Last session, Senator Crego out of Johnson County introduced legislation to start moving the needle in that direction that we can actually start assigning accountability to folks who want to register through registered agents in Wyoming for their place of incorporation.

We need to move that legislation forward without harming legitimate businesses so that we continue to be a very, very friendly, open for business state and not impact negatively businesses in Wyoming, whilst also making it more difficult for those actors who wish to take advantage of our very strict privacy laws and very powerful LLC laws in order to establish businesses here that really are a guise, a ruse, a way to circumvent their responsibilities.

Candidates.

Thank you.

Our next all panel question comes from Melodie Edwards.

Would you continue the precedent set by Wyoming's current Secretary of State to share voter registration information with the federal government, and why?

Mr.

Young, your first 90s?

That's a very good question.

That's something I've heard from voters across the state.

When I travel around.

The short answer is you got to look at the law.

We're a state of laws.

I need to look at that.

You need to figure out, is that legal?

You need to work with the attorney general's office.

You need to work with your own legal counsel, and you figure out if it's crystal clear and that's the law, then that's the law.

However, and it's a big.

However, if it is ambiguous, if it's not clear, if it's not a slam dunk, then no, I would not provide it because my job would be to work for the citizens of Wyoming, not for the federal government.

So if that is even a question or a doubt, I'm not going to provide that information.

They're going to have to sue me for it.

Mr.

Oviatt 90s.

Okay, well, the short answer is absolutely not.

I've gone on record as saying that you do have to follow the law, but the law, as it stands right now, the current Secretary of State, I believe, abdicated his constitutional duty.

And I think that he's very fortunate that he isn't facing charges for that under my administration or any administration that I would support.

I would not want anything to be turned over.

You work with the federal government on a very narrow and defined terms.

You know, and beyond that, yeah, they'd have to sue, sue me or the state.

Thank you.

Mr.

Short.

90s.

Thank you.

And as I've said multiple times over the past few months, two words.

Sue me.

As the states that have not succumbed to this overreach by federal government have proven now 21 have prevailed in court against the DOJ.

The submission of our personal data to the federal government is the first step in federal government trying to take over elections and nationalize them.

This is absolutely in opposition to our constitutionally defined rights as states to run elections, case by case, state by state.

Obviously, as the Secretary of State, you have to provide uniformity across elections in the state, and that's done by standing strong against an overreaching federal government and saying, sorry, you're going to have to sue me because, quite honestly, we have passed laws that help prevent that kind of overreach from being something that we would abdicate to.

Short answer, sue me.

Thank you, Miss Williams.

90s.

Thank you.

I stand firmly with President Trump and this administration's efforts to combat voter fraud, the forces trying to undermine our elections come from the radical left and from foreign adversaries.

We heard a few weeks ago our president talk about vulnerabilities within our elections.

I will always defend, as your next secretary of state, the private information of Wyomingites.

But we must not let trust in our elections collapse whatsoever.

Thank you candidates.

Thank you.

The third all panel question comes from me.

Candidates.

The current Secretary of State has maintained a strong public policy profile, often working with lawmakers and taking a major role in pushing legislation as well as initiating and advancing forceful policy positions coming before the state's executive boards.

Do you see it as the Secretary of State's job to be a policy advocate or even policy maker, rather than an administrator of policies developed and advanced by the governor and legislators?

Mr.

Oviatt, youre first.

Well, the actual job of the Secretary of State is very narrowly defined there.

It's.

And it's quite clear what you can and can't do.

And they should not be advocating for anything beyond what the law requires of them.

Yes, you show up and you have to do your job on the various councils and boards.

But it should really be kind of a boring job.

You shouldn't be making waves.

You shouldn't be using that platform to grandstand to be taking advantage of your position as secretary of state, to try and move forward with your political career.

Especially if that comes at the detriment of the people of Wyoming, who you represent.

So in short, it should be a very simple, very boring job and hopefully not one that's very newsworthy.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Mr.

Short 90s.

I believe that's a reasonable dissertation by the former speaker, because I've said on multiple occasions, let's make the office boring again, rather than pandering to the media for attention, we should be working for the people of Wyoming.

And I believe that obviously, if there is a critical issue that has direct impact at the Secretary of State's office, then the Secretary may be should be involved in promoting or advocating for or offering testimony in support or opposition thereof, but just simply to use the office as a position to bully or pander.

Really disingenuous.

And honestly, it's a little demeaning to the office.

So I believe that, again, let's make the Secretary of State's office boring again and just get the work done for the people.

Thank you, Miss Williams.

90s.

As your next Secretary of State, I'm committed to being a constitutional guardian of Wyomings sovereignty.

So often it's not, it's not a question about advocacy.

With this current elected official.

It's about transparency and about working with the people, being a voice for the people.

I'm committed to being a voice for the people.

I'm committed to making sure that communities know what projects are being proposed in their community.

I'm committed to being to listening to them.

My opponent has been notorious for not doing that.

He's fast.

He's signed resolutions to fast track projects in his own community.

I'm not a pay to play person.

So I. Thank you.

Mr.

Young.

Yeah.

I jump the gun there.

So short answer.

No, I would take a little bit more of a reserved approach that comes from my experience.

I have ten years of working for the state government.

So I had a lot of experience and a lot of practice in making sure that you stayed in your field.

You were a expert in your field.

You treat everyone the same and everyone fairly, regardless of party or affiliation, and you bring that kind of calm, professional expertise.

That's the model I would want to bring in as the Secretary of State.

I view it as you are an expert, and you have the staff that are experts, and so you bring them when needed to, whether it be city, county, or the legislature, to provide that expertise, to talk about how well, what this bill or what this issue, how will it affect people?

How will it affect the state?

That's what's important is to provide that expertise.

I would say if it directly affects the duties of the Secretary of State's office, I would be more vocal about bringing up how it's going to affect.

I think that's important.

I don't make the decision.

It's a separation of powers.

The legislature does that, but I would want to advocate and make it known how it will affect I will differ a little bit from the stage.

I don't think the SOS is boring.

It's just very specialized.

A lot of it can be dry, I'm not going to lie, but it has critical impact on our state and it affects the lives of every citizen daily, often in the background that they don't see.

So it is a exciting role where you get to make a big difference, even if people don't always see you making that big difference.

That's something I'm excited to do.

Thank you sir.

Candidates.

That concludes the all panel section of the debate.

We move now to the lightning round.

A change of pace again, 1 or 2 or short prompts from the panel.

Each candidate gives a 15 second response to the same prompt before we move to the next.

All candidates will answer each prompt.

The candidate who answers first rotates down the line with each new prompt, and our first respondent, I believe, is.

Miss Williams and our first lightning round prompt from Clair McFarland.

Weston County.

There is a lack of trust in the election system in Weston County.

I took complaints formal complaints from the citizens of Weston County seriously.

Thank you, Mr.

Young.

Good people, but needs help.

Thank you sir.

Mr.

Oviatt.

I agree with needs help.

It's a bit of a mess.

We just lost the second county clerk there and not very long, so they could use a little bit of assistance and some support.

Mr.

Short.

Unfortunately, some bad decisions were made insofar as the way that that situation was handled both locally and with their partner in the Secretary of State's office, that could have been handled much more professionally and done in a way that boosted voter confidence, rather than continue to divide it.

Thank you candidates.

Our next lightning round prompt is from Melodie Edwards.

Mr.

Young, you're first.

The size of campaign donations.

The size of donations.

I think theyre appropriate.

I can confirm campaigning is expensive.

Being truthful.

Mr.

Oviatt.

I think it's incredibly disproportionate.

I don't like what I've seen.

Personally, I could use a little bit more.

Mr.

Short, 15 seconds.

Campaign donations are fine as long as they're fully disclosed.

And people understand exactly who donated.

Millis.

Williams.

Campaign finance reports.

They're transparent.

They're accessible.

Thank you.

Our next lightning round response is our prompt is from me.

Voting.

And Mr.

Oviatt, you'll be.

First again.

I'm sorry.

You're about to get it.

Voting machines.

Voting machines.

I take my info from the county clerks.

They say they're safe and secure.

They're airgapped.

They're not connected to the internet.

I trust the science and I trust the data.

Mr.

Short.

Likewise, having served as an Election judge multiple times participated in tabulating machine testing.

I can say that I would rather have a machine counting than a human counting.

We are prone to error, especially in very repetitive tasks.

Miss Williams.

Vulnerable.

Mr.

Young.

I think.

Having been the elections director, I believe in them.

I think they're safe.

It's not much different than a tabulator grading college exams in high school kids.

I think hand count audit is good to verify, but otherwise I think they're good.

Thank you.

Our next lightning round prompt from Clair McFarland and Mr.

Short, you're first.

Thank you.

No worries.

Biggest threat to Wyoming's elections.

I'm sorry.

Again, please.

The biggest threat to Wyoming's elections.

Disinformation 100%.

Spewing.

Hyperbole and emotionally driven irrational nonsense as fact.

Miss Williams 15 seconds.

The system is built on trust.

There are bad actors.

Mr.

Young.

Confidence in the elections.

And foreign influence, I think, is an actual, real threat to our elections.

Mr.

Oviatt.

Yes.

Disinformation, both top down and bottom up.

And people that are not trusting the wisdom of our county clerks, they're very wise.

They're good at their job.

They have a lot of experience, trust them.

Thank you.

Candidates.

Miss Williams, you'll be first for this next prompt from Melodie Edwards.

Crossover voting.

Used to cheat during the Liz Cheney election.

I'm satisfied with where the data is right now in statute.

Mr.

Young.

I think that this is the law our legislature passed.

That's the law we have.

If that's what people don't want anymore, they need to work with their legislators to change that.

But it is the law currently.

If you don't like it, you can change your registration.

Currently before the lockout.

Mr.

Oviatt.

Yes, I think we need to educate voters on this, tell them what their potential changes could be, and convince them to support a system that gives them the most choice possible and will give them the majority of people that make them the happiest with the results.

Mr.

Short.

I think anything that makes it more difficult for voters to actually cast a ballot is antithetical to who we are as a people, and I think that people need to be able to vote for who they think is the best candidate.

Thank you.

Candidates.

The next lightning round prompt is from me.

Wyoming's county clerks.

Mr.

Young, you're first.

I think Wyoming's county clerks are extremely professional, knowledgeable, hard working, and I support them and wouldn't want to work with them and help them in that role as Secretary.

Mr.

Oviatt.

As I said, they're good people.

They work hard.

I like them.

Mr.

Short.

Haven't been an election judge serving with the county clerk.

I trust her implicitly.

I've known all the county clerks across our state.

I've visited with all of them.

I trust them implicitly.

They're working hard to serve us.

Miss Williams, I think you should have been first.

My apologies for that.

County clerks.

Hard working, essential to carry out the duties of our primary and general elections.

Thank you.

Our next lightning round prompt is from Clair McFarland.

Mr.

Let's we'll get back in order now, Mr.

Oviatt, you'll be first.

Redistricting.

Well, redistricting again, you have to follow the law, but it should be it should be boring, and it should be up to the people who live in that district, talking with the people that represent them.

And it should be done with the with the full transparency and bodacious collaboration.

Mr.

Short.

I like what Qwenton said, but I also believe that any attempt to disenfranchize voters here in Fremont County is really not a good tack to take, because these folks have worked hard to have representation that really meets their needs and listens to their concerns.

Miss Williams, 15 seconds.

Based on my experience in the state legislature, contentious.

Mr.

Young.

I would agree.

It is a contentious issue.

It's a hard issue.

It's see that nationally, not just in Wyoming.

I think the legislature does a good job of trying to work through that.

And the role of the Secretary is to offer support and expertise where needed.

Continuing with the lightning round, our next prompt from Melodie Edwards.

Low voter engagement and participation.

Mr.

Short.

We really need to meet voters where they're at so that they understand that their voices matter, rather than telling them to come to us, we need to meet them where they're at, regardless of their age, regardless of their locations, and give them an opportunity to kick the tires and help them understand their voices matter.

Miss Williams.

Leaders motivate others.

As your next Secretary of State, I'll do that.

Mr.

Young.

It's sad to see the really low turnout.

I think there's already a lot of great ideas on this stage, but one I would say is I want to travel around the state and hit the rural areas.

Talk about voting, why it matters and why you can trust our elections because we run good elections.

Mr.

Oviatt.

Yes, we need to engage more voters, especially young people, and we need our process to be open and allow it to evolve specifically so that people want to engage and do not feel shut out from the very beginning.

Candidates, thank you for that change of pace.

We've exhausted our allotted time for the lightning round.

Our next segment of the debate is individual candidate questions.

We'll start with me.

I'll ask Miss Williams a specific question.

She'll have 60s to answer, and then in turn, the other candidates, in order can respond or rebut for as long as 20s, at which point the original respondent will have a 15 second follow up if desired.

A.I.-influenced investment fraud, particularly as it applies to Wyoming senior citizens, is seen as a growing problem.

What can Wyoming do?

Perhaps, and including from the Secretary of State's office to help protect investments that are undermined by online- or A.I.- assisted predators or are fraudulent to begin with?

Steve.

This requires being proactive.

As your next Secretary of State, I will be out in communities.

I will collaborate with organizations such as AARP and make sure that the elderly know what vulnerabilities exist, what frauds exist, and what schemes are out there.

Now, we all know that they don't all use social media like the younger generation does.

Their means of communication are very different.

And so it's going to require tailoring to each and every one of their needs, using using different media outlets and more in-person communication.

Thank you.

Mr.

Young response.

Yes, I would like to add, I think, you know, the Secretary of State's office already has a phenomenal staff and the compliance division that wants to help educate folks.

They work hard at that.

We need to put some more money and effort into that so we can get it more out around the state and not just educate the seniors.

We need to educate their family who are being able to pass it on to them as well.

Thank you, Mr.

Oviatt.

Yes, well, A.I.

Is just a tool and it can be used for good or for bad.

And we need somebody in the Secretary of State's office who actually understands that tech and can use that understanding to go out and educate the vulnerable people that are in our communities.

And then actually, it can be put to good use, too.

We can fight fire with fire and fire with water.

We can use A.I.

And interpersonal interactions to educate people and keep them safe and ahead of the curve.

When when these A.I.

bots are coming to, to attack them and trying to, to scam our citizens.

Thank you sir.

Mr.

Short 20s.

I agree completely.

We need to spend more time educating.

And as somebody who actually understands tech very well, background in nuclear science has given me a great insight into much of the technology we utilize today.

And a communication skill that can help relay information that's germane to helping protect and educate.

I think I'm the best qualified for that particular aspect.

Miss Williams, a final 15 seconds if you like.

A.I.

is emerging.

There are many phone calls that we make for business purposes where it's an A.I.

bot that answers on the other line.

I can understand the older generations frustration with not having a human on the other line.

As your next Secretary of State, I can guarantee that there'll be wonderful customer service within the Secretary of State State's office, not A.I.

bots.

Thank you.

Our next question with Mr.

Young first respond com from Clair McFarland.

If elected, you would have one of the seats on the State Board of Land Commissioners.

What would be your policy approach toward approving leases for wind farms on state lands?

That's a great question.

I think kind of two parts to that.

First one general approach.

Second, wind farms.

The first one is everyone coming before the board deserves a fair shake, right?

We need to follow the law.

We have a fiduciary duties that are involved in our position.

And we need to make sure that when everyone comes before us, they know that there is no predetermined decision, that we're going to decide it on the merits as it comes up.

And they know what those rules are.

The community needs to be involved in that decision.

The people making the investments need to let their voices be heard so we can make the best decision each time.

When it comes to wind projects, I tend to not favor the wind projects.

I don't believe in banning any business.

I want to be clear there.

But when it comes to projects, I grew up in Carbon County.

My dad was a county commissioner.

I saw when those wind farms went up and I saw through him the problems that did create in the community.

It did bring some jobs, but it also brought a lot of problems.

If, for example, if those turbines catch on fire, if you don't have the right equipment to put them out, you've got to maintain roads.

If the company goes under and the bond fails on it, that's a huge expense on the community.

So I do have some skepticism and concerns about them.

Mr.

Oviatt 20s.

Yeah, I believe we approach all of it, everything with as an equal playing field, and we bring radical transparency and bodacious collaboration to everything that goes before those boards and committees.

We make everyone who could be affected let them know.

And we weigh that mandate with practical discretion.

Mr.

Short 20s wind farms.

The Constitution.

Is very clear on the utilization of state lands for the benefit of schools.

If we want to have a different conversation about how they're considered, the legislature needs to act to direct the state Board of Land Commissioners to actually take into account public input.

As a county commissioner, I understand how important that is, but the law is the laws that exist today.

Miss Williams 20s.

Thank you.

As your next Secretary of State, I will be an ambassador for Wyoming citizens.

If you regardless of whether or not you're a rancher in Torrington, a farmer in Powell or an executive in Jackson Hole, I'll be a voice for all of those within the state of Wyoming on that board.

Young 15.

Oh.

I'm sorry.

Okay.

Let's.

Give her five more seconds here.

My opponent loves wind farms.

He approved them in Converse County and faced backlash from citizens in his community.

Mr.

Young 15 seconds.

If you like.

Again, just to re-emphasize, I don't think they're perfect.

I don't believe in banning any business, though.

I think if there's places it makes sense, I think one of the places it makes sense if you have one on your property or your own farm, right?

That's not my role.

But I do think there's places we can have them.

But I do have concerns more broadly about them.

Thank you.

Our next individual candidate question with Mr.

Oviatt first respond comes from Melodie Edwards.

In recent elections, felons and former felons have submitted ballots thinking they were cleared to vote, but they weren't.

What will your office do to clarify pathways to the ballot box for people in this situation?

Well, that really just boils down to a question of education.

And as people, we have 50 states.

Every state has different regulations regarding whether felons can or cannot vote, how long after they committed a felony can they vote?

And we need to follow the particular way the law is set out in Wyoming.

And the best way to do that is through education, specifically on the secretary of state's website.

We need to revamp that.

That's just one of the many forms of education that we could provide through that website, and that would be the best way for for not only felons, but law abiding citizens and everyone in between to get as much information as they can about our voting process.

Thank you, sir.

Mr.

Short 20s.

I'm sorry, would you please repeat the question?

In recent elections, felons and former felons have submitted ballots thinking they were cleared to vote, but they weren't.

What will your office do to clarify pathways to the ballot box for people in this situation?

Obviously, legislation has been moved recently that allows felons to have their rights restored.

And in fact, I've been in communication with some of those folks during this campaign to help them understand that they actually can get their rights restored.

Two young people in Casper actually went down to start the process to get their rights restored, because they're nonviolent felons.

I believe that that is something that we can do on an ongoing basis.

And myself, I'm happy to visit with anybody about it.

As Williams 20s.

Thank you.

I'm the only candidate up here with legislative experience.

I have voted for bills that have restored voter rights for individuals within the state of Wyoming.

I'm committed to working with the legislative branch of government on improving legislation as we move forward.

Mr.

Oviatt, 15 more seconds, if you'd like.

I'm sorry, Mr.

Young 20s.

Sorry.

So having been the former policy planning director at WDOC, I actually wrote the policy that they use to go through the process.

So I understand it.

Well.

I'd want to work with WDOC to make sure we have that education piece before they get out so they understand it.

The other piece we need to look at is E-poll books, because if you have those, it gives you a live update so that they don't even get in trouble.

It'll tell them when they go to check in, you're a felon.

You can't vote.

Don't do it.

You don't want to get in trouble.

Mr.

Oviatt now, 15 seconds if you like.

I that all sounds good to me.

Thank you.

All right, I've got the next question.

And, Mr.

Short, thank you for keeping track of this better than I can.

Half of Wyoming voted early in 2020.

Some Republican Party positions nationally now often are opposed to early voting.

Other voting practices outside the tradition of Election Day voting, judging by percentages, Wyoming voters seem to approve of this process.

What's your position?

I think that voting, once the voting time window opens, should be allowed.

Without question.

We have folks who work very different job schedules.

We have folks who work multiple weeks on, multiple weeks off, and having that be a difficulty for them to vote simply because they can't vote until Election Day.

I think really disenfranchizes them.

Beyond that, we have ranchers who have so many tasks in front of them that they're not able to schedule a day off because they don't know when they're going to have an issue on their particular farm or ranch associated with livestock or equipment, and they have to have the flexibility to vote when they can vote.

Additionally, we have folks that are in assisted living facilities or mobility impaired, and to force them into a line on Election Day only, I really think is antithetical to who we are as a people.

We need to make voting as easy as possible.

Obviously as as secure as possible, as well.

Miss.

Williams.

Early voting 20s.

It's election day, not election season.

I support early voting.

I think it works, right?

We know it works.

It's safe and secure.

There's a lot of systems in place to make sure it's safe and secure, and it is flexible.

We have people that work in the oil fields.

They work in a prison, senior citizen in a nursing home.

They need to have that opportunity to vote.

And Wyoming provides that.

And that's what we should keep doing.

And I would fight to support that.

Thank you.

Mr.

Oviatt.

20s half the population voted early in 2020.

I mean, that alone is a pretty big endorsement of the process.

I don't know if you can get 50% of Wyoming to agree on much these days, but if half of them are for it, listen to the people.

Why would we want to make it harder?

Let's increase it.

Let's make it easier, make it even better and more more likely for people to vote.

I. Why not.

Mr.

Short?

15 more seconds if you like.

As Wyoming people we know and trust the system, we trust in each other.

And to try to force everybody into a single day of voting.

I think it's disingenuous.

Candidates.

Thank you.

Continuing with the individual candidate questions, the next from Clair McFarland.

How do you work with people who have opposed you on issues?

Miss your first 60s.

I've had the opportunity to work with people who oppose me on issues for the past five and a half years in the state legislature, I come from a very conservative area.

We debate issues in the state legislature and debate bills, not personalities.

I can agree to disagree with people all day long and not compromise on my values or the the values that I hold so dearly when it comes to the Republican Party platform.

Mr.

Young 20s to respond.

So ask anyone who's ever worked with me.

I build coalitions, that's what I do.

I help stand up the task force at the Secretary of State's Office for Election Cybersecurity that included federal, state and local partners.

Hard to get them to agree on everything, but I worked to get them in the room and be a team to be successful.

I also built tremendous relationships with our clerks so that I could call them, or they could call me and we could get something done.

Mr.

Oviatt 20s.

Well, I have a wide background of experience.

I've worked from the oil fields of Wyoming to the ice fields of Antarctica for the National Science Foundation.

So you put me in a room with just about anybody I can find common ground.

And from common ground, that's where you work forward.

I'm also a certified mediator, and you're trained on how to get people to work together.

Collaboration all the way.

Mr.

Short.

Track record is pretty clear.

I've been able to get 93 county commissioners to agree to participate in the Wyoming County Commissioner Association Congressional Tour Initiative.

93 people agreeing on one thing that's a Herculean effort that I feel proud to have accomplished, and it's just one of many that I can say as part of my resume.

Ms.

Williams, 15 seconds.

If you like.

My opponent talks about his experience as a county commissioner, but when you ask the public in his community about their experience with him as a county commissioner, he's known as a backroom, closed door commissioner that's ruled out the the voice of the people.

As your next Secretary of State, I promise to be a voice for the people.

Thank you.

Next question.

In this round, for all candidates with Mr.

Young first to respond.

Melodie Edwards.

Your predecessor sought to require citizenship checks before people could benefit from public projects that use state grants.

What's your opinion on this strategy?

That's a good question.

So I I'm going to be honest, I would have to research that a lot more.

I'd have to look into it.

I don't want to speak off the cuff.

My initial thought is that if you meet the requirements of the grants, if the citizenship isn't part of it explicitly, then if that's a problem, we need to add that.

But if that's not part of it, I don't want to add a rule to people that surprises them when they get there and go, wait a second, what do you mean I don't qualify?

That wasn't in your list.

So nobody wants a gotcha moment.

Nobody wants to be surprised.

We need to treat everyone fairly.

But if that is a concern that comes up among the public or in our legislature, and that's the rule they pass for whatever issue we're working on, grants or however we're operating.

Then obviously that's a new requirement.

And then you look at that, but I don't believe in gotchas.

And I think everyone has to be treated fairly.

And I'm not going to add rules onto something that just because it's my opinion.

Thank you, Mr.

Oviatt.

20s yes, obviously we've got to follow the law and that's up to the legislature to make that explicit.

If they haven't done that, then you shouldn't be legislating from the board and commission seat.

That's not the responsibility of the people who sit there.

Mr.

Short.

Very well stated.

I believe that we have a tendency to apparently search for solutions to non-existent problems.

The legislature sets clear what the responsibilities and requirements are.

We're supposed to follow them without trying to mandate something that's really non-existent.

Miss Williams 20s.

I believe in transparency.

The government has no money, so whatever money it's offering through the form of a grant that's hard working Wyomingites that are behind that money, hardworking taxpayers, and we work hard for that money every single day.

What we contribute to the government.

I believe that transparency again is important.

So we need to state that up front.

That's only citizens are eligible.

Mr.

Young, 15 more seconds if you'd like.

Yeah, I would just say I think that that's something you need to work with the legislator on and be again, be that expert role and say, how would it affect what would it do?

As well as with all the staff that work with the boards, because they have a lot of expertise they can bring to it as well.

Candidates.

Thank you.

We've completed the question and answer session of the debate.

We now move to our final segment, which is closing statements.

We began the responses with Mr.

Short.

We'll do that in reverse order for the closing statements.

45 seconds, beginning with Qwenton Oviatt.

All right.

I'd like to say thanks again.

And I want everyone to go out and vote.

The data is clear.

Our Wyoming elections are secure, and that's thanks to the hard work of our county clerks and the volunteers who run them.

I would like to see a long overdue voting cleanup bill, and I hope.

The next Secretary of State takes that on.

I'm running to bring empathy back to this race.

I want to bring collaborations to the boards, work with citizens and voters, and I want real transparency in every decision that we make.

I've heard about this idea of Wyoming becoming a Liberty Lighthouse, but I'm not sure what that means.

Here in the landlocked state of Wyoming.

I do know one thing, though.

A lighthouse only works if the light is turned on and it's shining in the right direction.

And right now, what that light needs to be shining on is all the dark money that's being funneled into our state from outside organizations.

That's funding groups like the Freedom Caucus and is paying these PACs to fill up our our mailboxes with all their garbage that, if you haven't already, please go vote.

Thank you.

Thank you sir.

CJ Young.

Yes.

Well, thank you all for being here and listening in.

I'm from Wyoming.

I grew up in Carbon County, went to University of Wyoming.

I went to Cheyenne to start my business.

It's a brick and mortar retail, so I know what it's like to be a business owner.

I serve my country in the United States Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer, and I volunteer hundreds of hours to youth programs, Civil Air Patrol, because that's building the future.

And it's something I believe in.

I'm running for this job because I've already been there.

I was the elections director.

I know how the office works.

I know the staff.

I know the team I don't need on the job training.

I'm ready to start day one.

So if you choose me, I'm going to get ready on day one, get rolling for you, and I'd be honored to earn your vote.

Thank you.

Rachel Williams.

Thank you.

So my opponent wants to make the Wyoming Secretary of State's office boring again, but I can tell you that there's nothing that Wyoming's facing in its future that's boring.

Whether it's pressure on our elections, foreign infiltration, threats to our land and organized fraud.

This is real.

What Wyoming is facing in its future.

You don't send a caretaker into a fight.

You send a leader, one that's willing to fight for state sovereignty.

I'm Rachel Williams, and I humbly ask for your vote to be your next Secretary of State.

Thank you.

Robert.

Short.

Thank you all for being here.

Thanks for the folks online tuning in.

I'm Robert Short.

Learn more about me at shortforstate.com.

As a three time elected county commissioner, the folks at Converse County put their trust in me and placed it well because they know that they can call me any day of the week, and I'm willing to answer and respond to any of their questions.

I don't take edicts or directions or get any kind of marching orders from out of state operatives who would love to tell anybody else how to work.

It doesn't work for me.

I work for the people of Wyoming.

That's where my heart is.

That's where I'll be.

Because I'm from Wyoming.

I'm for Wyoming.

I'm standing tall for all the people of Wyoming.

Thank you for having us candidates.

Thank you for your participation.

Remember, this debate can be seen again anytime online at WyomingPBS.org and on YouTube.

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