They Ignore You Until You Make Them Count the Votes

What Ashlie Combs Says She Witnessed Inside Alabama GOP Power Circles

Sometimes people enter politics because they want power.

Sometimes they enter because they want answers.

Ashlie Combs says she entered because she believed participation mattered.

She is not a consultant, candidate, or party officer. She describes herself as a Republican voter and Army veteran who volunteered with her local GOP and expected the same thing many citizens expect, transparency, accountability, and fairness in how decisions are made.

Instead, she says she found something very different.

"I did not go looking for a fight," Combs told The Limestone Lowdown. "I just wanted procedures followed and votes counted."

What she describes spans nearly a decade across multiple counties and meetings. Her story is not about a single disagreement with a single individual. It is about a pattern she believes exists inside party structures, a pattern she says punishes people who ask questions.

The First Red Flag

Combs said her involvement began in Talladega County around 2016 and 2017. After being interviewed and voted in as a local Republican Party member, she later attended a State Executive Committee conference in Montgomery.

There, she says, she saw a gap between public presentation and private behavior involving John Wahl, former chairman of the Alabama Republican Party and currently a candidate for lieutenant governor.

Combs said the comments were directed toward Gina Grant, then chairman of the Talladega County Republican Executive Committee.

“I got to see how leadership would tell someone one thing to their face,” she said, “and then privately say, when she raises her hand for questions, just ignore her. We are not even going to entertain her.”

But the moment she says changed everything happened during the annual State Executive Committee steering vote.

She recalls noticing ballots being gathered after voting concluded.

“They were about to throw them away and I said, I will count them,” Combs said.

According to Combs, she insisted on counting every ballot in full view of others present rather than only reviewing selected votes.

"They were about to throw them away and I said, I will count them," Combs said.

According to Combs, she was instructed only certain votes needed to be counted.

"I was basically told only part of them would be counted," she said. "And I said, no sir, I am counting all of them."

She says she gathered the ballots, counted them in front of witnesses, and had them signed and notarized.

"When the numbers were announced, Wahl said he did not agree with them," she said. "From that moment, I knew something was not right."

The Meeting That Turned Into a Conflict

Back in her county organization, Combs says concerns soon arose over financial handling and recordkeeping. She described a request made to the local group by Sondra Epperson, then chairperson of the Talladega County Republican Executive Committee.

“She wanted two thousand dollars for five thumb drives and a new computer,” Combs said. “I asked what the security protocols were and how records would be handled. I was told, just trust me.”

Combs said her concern was not the purchase itself but the lack of documentation and oversight procedures for party records.

She refused.

"No. That is not how checks and balances work," she said. "Without controls, minutes can be changed and records can be altered." Combs says she elevated her concerns to higher party leadership but was told state officials do not involve themselves in county matters. "As chairman, you are supposed to oversee and make sure procedures are followed," she said. "That is the whole point of oversight."

 The Rally Incident

Combs also described an incident at a Trump rally that she believes contributed to her removal.

She claims paid attendees were placed in less favorable areas while politically connected individuals received access.

"People who paid for VIP access were placed far away," she said. "Others who did not pay were allowed closer access."

She says a woman in a wheelchair and on oxygen was told she could not move forward despite paying for access. Combs asked someone she knew on the security team for assistance.

Afterward, she says the reaction from leadership was immediate.

"From that day, I was blackballed," Combs said. "They would not renew my membership. I was never given a written reason."

She explained that party membership must be renewed yearly.

"Because I questioned procedures, they voted not to renew me," she said.

Denied Again

After moving to Etowah County, Combs says she attempted to join the local party again. She says she was denied a second time and later told she had Democratic affiliations, which she disputes. "I have been a Republican all my life," she said. "I was never given documentation or a written explanation." To her, the message was clear.

"If you ask questions, you become the problem," she said.

A System, Not a Single Dispute

Combs does not describe what she experienced as a personal feud. She sees it as a structural issue. She believes the problem is not ideology, but control of procedure.

"They are stripping our voice," she said. "They are silencing people who question them."

She also described noticing internal rule changes she believes benefited leadership positions. "If it benefited leadership staying in power, it got audited and changed," she said. The Limestone Lowdown is publishing that statement as Combs' opinion and perspective based on her participation and observations.

Why This Matters

Her story raises a larger question. What happens when participation itself becomes discouraged?

Political parties are private organizations, but they function as gateways to public office. For most voters, primaries effectively determine leadership. If internal processes restrict participation, the public may never see certain candidates or viewpoints.

This is not about personalities. It is about whether ordinary citizens can engage in the process without retaliation or exclusion. Combs framed it simply.

"We have constitutional rights for a reason," she said. "Citizens are supposed to have a voice."

The Faith and Values Question

For many voters in Alabama, politics is not just policy. It is tied to faith, stewardship, and the belief that leadership is a form of service.

Integrity matters in both the public and private square, and authority carries responsibility. When people believe processes are manipulated or voices are dismissed, the issue stops being partisan and becomes moral.

The concern raised by Combs is not merely who wins elections. It is whether the process itself is honest.

Citizens can accept losing a vote. What they struggle to accept is believing their voice never truly counted. If a system rewards silence and punishes questions, participation fades. And when participation fades, representation follows.

In our next article, we will examine a current situation that has brought these concerns into the open and why many grassroots voters across Alabama now believe the issue is not a single dispute but a larger test of trust in the institutions meant to represent them.

 Her Strongest Words

Combs believes the issue goes beyond internal disagreements or political strategy. She says what concerns her most is how dissent is handled.

She described what she sees as intimidation, pressure, and social retaliation toward people who question leadership decisions.

“That is not a true leader,” she said. “A true leader listens to both sides and tries to bring people together. They do not use strong arm tactics.”

Combs said her military service shapes how she interprets those actions. In her view, leadership that relies on fear instead of accountability damages public trust.

“In the military, leadership earns respect by listening and protecting the people under them,” she said. “When people are threatened or bullied into silence, participation disappears.” During the interview, Combs used particularly strong language to describe what she believes those tactics resemble. The Limestone Lowdown is including her statement as her personal opinion and characterization of events.

“They are becoming domestic terrorists,” Combs said, referring to party leadership she believes is using intimidation and pressure to control outcomes. “Because they are using threats and strong arming tactics that silence people.”

She connected that belief to what she sees as a broader problem within political organizations.

“Alabama says we are grassroots conservatives,” she said. “But a lot of people feel it is really about who you know and who has the most money.”

Combs said, in her view, the real issue is representation.

“We are the constituents,” she said. “They are elected to represent us. Citizens are supposed to have a voice.”

Combs says citizens can accept losing an election, but they struggle when they believe they never had a fair chance to be heard in the first place. That concern is now at the center of a developing situation involving Senate candidate Jesse Battles. His race has prompted many Alabama voters to look closely at how candidates are approved, challenged, and ultimately allowed to appear before the public. In our next article, we will examine that case and why some grassroots conservatives believe it represents more than one campaign, but a test of trust in the process itself.

Editor’s Note:
This article reflects statements made by Ashlie Combs during a recorded interview. The Limestone Lowdown is continuing to seek additional documentation and responses from party officials regarding membership procedures and candidate challenge processes.