Eileen Quiring O’Brien campaign provides statement on alleged voter roll roll failure and election conflict of interest in Clark County auditor’s race

VANCOUVER — As general election ballots are set to arrive in mailboxes across Clark County, the Eileen Quiring O’Brien campaign has released a comprehensive report detailing systemic voter roll maintenance failures and serious ethical conflicts involving incumbent County Auditor Greg Kimsey.

The disclosures center on Merhawi Yohannes Mehari, an Eritrean national with a history of local arrests for burglary, assault, and theft who was actively registered on Clark County voter rolls and receiving mail-in ballots despite an ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer.

"Clark County taxpayers expect their chief election official to maintain clean voter rolls and enforce administrative standards," said Eileen Quiring O’Brien. "Instead, when presented with court and jail records showing an ineligible non-citizen on active voter lists, Auditor Greg Kimsey demanded that private citizens take on personal legal liability and file formal challenges rather than taking administrative action himself."

Key highlights from the article release:

• Voter Roll Maintenance Failure: Jail booking and court records confirmed an ineligible foreign national remained on active county voter rolls under Kimsey’s 28-year tenure, relying on passive self-attestation rather than proactive database cross-referencing.
• Administrative Deflection: Rather than opening an official investigation, Kimsey contacted the campaign using a web form submitted via a personal Gmail account and provided his home address alongside a phone number belonging to his wife, Gayle Kimsey, insisting citizens bear the burden under RCW 29A.08.810.
• Legal Counter-Attack & Establishment Ties: Nearly a month later, Kimsey retained attorney Ted H. Gathe—husband of Sharon Wylie, the former Democratic State Representative defeated by Eileen Quiring O’Brien in the August primary—to issue a $5,000-per-violation demand letter under Washington's civil anti-doxxing statute (RCW 4.24.792) regarding the voluntarily submitted contact information.
• First Amendment Protection: Trial attorney D. Angus Lee formally responded on behalf of the campaign, establishing that the political speech is constitutionally protected under federal precedent (Bromm v. Lewis County) and warning that any lawsuit will trigger Washington's Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA, RCW 4.105), exposing Kimsey to mandatory attorney fees and costs.
• Severe Conflict of Interest: Kimsey is threatening personal financial litigation against an active candidate two weeks before ballots drop in an election where he oversees the vote count, while actively promoting and donating to his handpicked successor, Mitchell Kelly.

"Clark County voters deserve an independent executive who answers to the taxpayers, not an insider machine seeking to protect its legacy," added Quiring O’Brien. "On Day 1 in office, I will authorize a full third-party independent audit of all voter rolls and county operations, mandate proactive database eligibility checks, and restore real accountability."

To read the full article and review the legal documentation, visit https://www.eileenforauditor.com/news/from-voter-roll-failures-to-legal-threats-unmasking-the-establishment-setup-again

For more information, contact the campaign at [email protected].