ending countywide voting,<\/a> which allows voters to cast a ballot at any vote center. He said requiring residents to vote in assigned neighborhood precincts protects ballot security and secrecy.<\/p>\n![\"Republican]()
<\/p>\n
Republican Barry Wernick, running for Dallas County commisssioner, District 2.<\/p>\n
Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Sommerman said the countywide system offers the convenience that allows for higher turnout. Getting rid of it, he said, would result in massive lines and people skipping the polls when they can\u2019t make it home in time to get to their precinct.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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“That\u2019s voter suppression,” Sommerman said. \u201cWe should not allow that. And if you elect me, I will make sure you have voting access.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sommerman accused Wernick of wanting to eliminate early voting. Wernick rejected that as an attempt to scare voters, saying county commissioners don’t have authority to abolish it.<\/p>\n
Personal attacks<\/p>\n
The debate grew increasingly personal as Sommerman raised Wernick\u2019s past credit card lawsuit and a 2009 DWI arrest.\u00a0He asked why Wernick didn\u2019t disclose those cases in previous voter guide responses to The Dallas Morning News, which inquired about arrests and litigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In an interview after the debate, Wernick said the credit card lawsuit was related to an old debt with his ex-wife and he didn\u2019t think to cite it in the survey. He disclosed his DWI in the general election survey but did not in the primary guide, calling it an oversight since the case had been dismissed.<\/p>\n
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Before he was elected, Sommerman represented Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins in a 2021 lawsuit over a COVID-19 mask mandate for county meetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wernick said Sommerman tried to conceal his role in a lawsuit \u201cto take away our rights\u201d during the pandemic by leaving it out of a\u00a0voter guide question asking candidates about their involvement in litigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it amusing that my opponent talking about transparency is dishonest,\u201d Wernick said.<\/p>\n
Sommerman said he didn\u2019t include it because he wasn\u2019t a party to the suit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"It]()
<\/p>\n
It was an overflow room for those watching Dallas County District 2 County Commisssioner Democratic incumbent Andrew Sommerman and Republican challenger Barry Wernick debating during a candidate forum at the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce in Dallas, October 22, 2026. The Dallas Press Club and League of Women Voters of Dallas hosted the debate.<\/p>\n
Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Wernick\u00a0said Sommerman fails to understand the financial pressures facing residents and promised to seek a forensic audit of county spending. Sommerman punched back that the county already has an outside auditor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The incumbent touted his first-term accomplishments, such as helping end \u201csolitary confinement\u201d in the county\u2019s juvenile justice system and saving the county $4 million by getting rid of duplicate software.<\/p>\n
\u201cI run because I care what happens to you and your hard-earned dollars,\u201d Sommerman said.<\/p>\n
Wernick pledged to bring an independent voice to the all-Democratic commissioners court, saying no one challenging the majority\u00a0is bad for the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need someone who will go to the court, be our watchdog, and fight for transparency, accountability, and most importantly, right now, affordability,\u201d Wernick said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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District 2 covers the north central part of the county. Early voting ends Oct. 30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas County Commissioner Andrew Sommerman, left, and Republican challenger Barry Wernick shake hands before their debate Thursday at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-474112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}