Wyoming leaders reviewed the statewide results of the 2024 general election on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
The State Canvassing Board met at the state Capitol in Cheyenne and unanimously certified the results of Wyoming’s federal and legislative races, as well as judicial retention.
Specific reports of noncitizens voting during the election didn’t come up during the meeting. But board chair Secretary of State Chuck Gray said his office will work with the state Legislature in the upcoming session to pass new election requirements anyways.
“Chief among the institutions being threatened by the endless waves of illegal immigrants are our elections,” said Gray.
One requirement Gray mentioned would mandate proof of Wyoming residency and proof of U.S. citizenship to vote. Multiple county clerks told Wyoming Public Radio that historically, cases of noncitizens casting ballots in the state have been rare.
“We are always working on improving our elections. It’s a mindset,” Gray said. “I look forward to working with the Legislature [next session].”
His office will work with lawmakers to pass a series of election-related bills, he said. Those include a durational residency requirement before registering to vote, removing ballot drop boxes and adding more voter ID requirements.
Some public comments at the meeting focused on miscounts in Weston County’s House District 1 and county commissioner races. Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock accidentally printed incorrect ballots for some voters that were then counted as undervotes for Rep. Chip Neiman (R-Hulett). Weston County also had a similar problem with a county commissioner race. Multiple people commenting at the state certification meeting asked the state to make Weston County do a hand recount, but since the errors had to do with local races, the burden of figuring out what went wrong will stay with the county’s canvassing board. Either way, because Neiman ran unopposed, the miscount for Neiman’s race didn’t change the eventual outcome.
Vote total errors in both races have since been corrected by Hadlock. The local canvassing board is investigating the mistakes, and Gray said his office will be issuing a report on them.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
