By james art 
A sheet of bills aimed at changing the way Wyoming holds elections, is giving a position in the state legislative body.
Emphasis includes a ban on the use of voting drops by district officials, permission of audits of the number of hands after the election and new requirement For Larami County to use pens and papers for election process.
Many are supported by the cause of Wyoming Freedom and his ally, Secretary of State Chuck Gray.
HB 232 – Elections – counting counts
A bill, HB 232It will require people, not machines, to count the ballots after elections, if the difference in votes between candidates in state, federal and legislative competitions fall into a certain margin of each other.
“In the meantime, I had a large number of voters in my county, they come to say,” Hey, we are really concerned that there is no mechanism in our charter for audit of the hand, “reports reporter Jeremy Haroldson (R-Wheatland) to the Chamber of Budget Credit Committee on January 27S Haroldson is the third highest republican in the House and a member of the cause of Wyoming Freedom.
“We do not even have a mechanism to check, except to perform it back through the same table for table. We have no mechanism to check these elections [for fraud]he said.
Inheritance Foundation, Conservative Trust, Lists only four cases of voter fraud In Wyoming since 2000, all of them were the result of people with penalty sentences trying to vote.
These voters’ concerns made him write and sponsor the current measure, said Haroldson, for which some of the state unsuccessfully insisted over the years.
According to the bill, the hand census will be automatically triggered if the difference between the winner in a race that has the smallest number of votes, and the loser, which has the largest number of votes, is less than 1% or 2%, depending on from the circumstances.
Policy will also allow district officials and the Secretary of State to initiate audits of the number of hands and allow at least 25 Wyomingites to file a declaration that wants an audit. These voters would then be on the hook to pay or deposit of $ 1,000 to audit machine taboo, or $ 5,000 to audit the number of hands.
If the census is some discrepancy between the results of the retelling and the preliminary election results, then the District Enchantment Council will determine the official result of the election.
“I believe this is another of many, many bills that deals with a problem that does not exist,” Gail Simons tells the Budget Loan Committee. It runs a non -profit group Civics307 and run unsuccessfully for the city region 30 in the primary elections in August. “I believe it is inherently insufficient: a disadvantage with the assumption of a problem, a disadvantage in the presentation of a solution that actually creates a problem, a disadvantage in the more increasing undercutting of the faith in election, which I do not believe actually appears.”
Some district officials in the state Early said to Wyoming Public Radio The fact that people are the number of ballots instead of machines can actually lead to more mistakes, no less.
“If you look at the newsletters, people are creative”, ” said Fremont County County Julie Freez in October. “They do not follow the instructions. So now if you get a newsletter that is partially completed and the machine knows what to read … are [we] Then he has to be subjective as people and decide, this vote or that wasn’t? “
The Simons agreed with this mood in the hearing of the committee on January 27 in Capitol.
“In my mind, the requirement is the equivalent to the fact that your doctor’s diagnosis is checked by a witch doctor,” she said.
The Earl of the hand audits of the bill passed a third reading in the House on January 30. He heads to the Senate next.
Jordan Uplinger
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Wyoming Public Media
HB 131 – Bulletin Drop Boxes
Wyoming’s house also weighs an election measure that would ban the use of voting drops in the country.
HB 131 Proponents said it was about providing the integrity of the election and protecting the ballot retention chain as they move from the voters who fill them in the hands of duly selected employees.
“Stay [to conduct elections]Testify Gray to the Corporation Committee, Elections and Political Units On January 22nd.
But this bill also received discounts from those who stated that he undermined confidence in the election process, questioning the legitimacy of the method of collecting a long -term newsletter.
Marrisa Carpio with the Center for the State Equality Policy testifies after Gray that its organization has filed for open records to the Secretary of State for election complaints filed in the last three years.
“As long as there are many complaints that deal with violations of political campaigns such as Vapor or incorrectly marked mailNo complaint was made about Wyoming’s voting drops, “Carpio said.
Representative of the district officials in Wyoming also testifies, refuting the notion that the use of drops for drops is widespread only due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“From at least 90 years of anecdotal evidence, the counties have used these [drop boxes] To some extent, they are accepting absent ballots, “said Plast County County Malcolm Erwin, President of the District Officers Association. “So at least 30 years, three decades.” “
Some counties that use voting drops have monitoring cameras trained in the court 24 hours a day. Converse County Clerk Karen Rimmer said to WPR She checks the footage every day and maintains a detailed chain of tribal troupes placed in the box.
Gray called on all district officials to discontinue use On the voting drops last year, but the change of rules opposed the Association of District Officers and is ultimately blocked by governor Mark Gordon.
The bill went to third reading in the House on January 30th. He is now moving around the hall to the Senate for consideration.
Other election bills
Thehe The house has already passed several election policies including HB 156requiring proof of a 30-day residence for voting of elections in Wyoming and HB 157Requireing proof of citizenship to register in order to vote.
HB 106Who would cancel students’ ID cards as an acceptable form of identification for voting personal is for debate and amendments to the home on January 30 at the third reading of the bill.
HB 206 They will require voting and cancellation of Medicaid and Medicare insurance cards as forms of acceptable identification. He is ready for his vote on the first floor on January 30
HB 165 Would you forbid the state from holding elections by ranking voting. This is for public comments and discussion with the Chamber of Budget Loan Committee on January 30.
HB 173 They will require independent candidates to swear, as part of their application for a nomination for the performance of a position that they are not related to a voter, not a member of a political party. The account comes on the heels of a complaint Against the state made by Independent, which lost in the primary elections in August and was subsequently banned from running again in the general elections by the law of the state “sick loser”.
HB 178 He would expand the time when an employee could rest without a waste of pay to vote to include the early vote period. He is ready for his first vote and discussion at the home on January 30th.
HB 182 It would require “residence” for the purpose of voting not to mean a secondary or commercial address. This bill has not seen any action since its introduction.
HB 215 It will prohibit the use of electronic voting equipment and will require paper newsletters for election. Wyoming is currently using paper newsletters and machine tables. This bill is waiting for a hearing plan for the Corporation Committee, Elections and Political Units of the Chamber.
HB 217 It will require the number of hands in audits after the election. They are currently reported by machines. The bill has a hearing with the Chamber of Budget Credit Committee on January 30.
HB 249 They will require election for state and federal competitions in which no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes filed. The bill awaits a scheduling hearing in the Committee on Corporations, Elections and Political Units of the Chamber.
HB 278 They would allow public members to attend when voting machines were tested for accuracy before the election. Representatives of political parties and independent candidates may currently attend these tests. The bill is expecting a hearing with the Committee on Corporation, Elections and Political Units of the Chamber.
SF 190 It will also require paper newsletters to be the default vote method. He is waiting for a hearing at the Committee on Corporations, Elections and Political Units in the Senate.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the public broadcast corporation supporting the state’s coverage in the country. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole’s public radio are partnering to cover government problems both on the air and online.