This is part of the Brennan Center’s Toolkits for Activists Across the Nation.
Jump to a section:
Political Context | What’s in Place and What’s Needed | Key Dates
Administering an election under pandemic conditions requires undertaking steps to keep voting accessible, safe, and secure. The guide below lays out the problems Covid-19 poses, what preparedness measures Wyoming has, and what changes are still needed. But first, we offer some political context for your advocacy.
Advocacy Focus: Local Reform
Local officials have a lot of responsibility over elections. They are a great place to focus advocacy efforts. Though state officials can make any of the changes in this toolkit, we highlight some examples of changes that local elections officials can also make with this symbol:🔸
Political Context
Below is a list of the relevant officials and information about the legislative session.
Governor: Mark Gordon (R)
Secretary of State: Edward Buchanan (R)
Legislature: House (R) Senate (R)
Legislative Session: The legislature last adjourned on March 12, 2020. Either the legislature or the governor can call a special legislative session.
Local Elections Officials: In Wyoming, county clerks share responsibilities for administering elections. You can look up individual county clerks here.
What Wyoming Has and What’s Needed
Three priorities. There are three key areas where we need to shore up our elections systems for success during a pandemic: registration, mail voting, and in-person voting.
Registration
Covid-19 may disrupt the traditional ways Americans register to vote, like get out the vote drives or registering at government agencies. In the crucial weeks before the registration deadline, postal service disruptions may lead many registration forms to arrive at election offices after the deadline.
Preparatory Measures Wyoming Already Has Taken:
- Election Day voter registration
Changes Still Needed:
- Prepare to extend mail voter registration deadlines based on conditions in the state
- Online voter registration
Voting by Mail
Because of Covid-19, long lines and crowds at the polls pose health risks not seen in previous elections. Allowing every citizen to vote by mail reduces the number of people at the polls on Election Day and decreases the exposure risk to Covid-19.
Preparatory Measures Wyoming Already Has Taken:
- All voters can vote by mail without an excuse
- No ID requirement to vote by mail
- No notary or witness requirement for return of mail ballot
Changes Still Needed:
- Online tool for requesting an absentee ballot
- Provide pre-paid postage for voting by mail
- Accept late-arriving ballots postmarked by Election Day
- Provide post-election notice and cure opportunity for defects on absentee-ballot envelope, including signature mismatch or missing signatures
- Send absentee-ballot applications to all voters who have not yet applied
In-Person Voting
Even with expanded mail voting opportunity, states cannot close polling places. To do so may disenfranchise voters without Internet and mail access, or those who do not wish to cast a ballot by mail. In-person voting must be done in accordance with health guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Preparatory Measures Wyoming Already Has Taken:
- In-person early voting
- Vote Centers on election day
Changes Still Needed:
- Ensure sufficient polling places are open and resourced on Election Day🔸
- Open more in-person early voting locations🔸
- Take proper public health precautions to ensure safe polling places🔸
- Hold training sessions for polling-place workers well in advance of Election Day, so that election officials can better anticipate problems with staffing and logistics🔸
- Increase access to curbside voting at polling locations
Advocacy Focus: Protecting Polling Places
No matter how prepared Wyoming is as a matter of policy, elections officials and advocates must stay vigilant about ensuring safe, healthy in-person voting is an option for everyone all the way through Election Day. Here are some important things to know about who makes decisions about polling places in Wyoming and what rules govern the process:
- Generally, a polling place used in the 2014 general election cannot be changed unless an advance notice is posted and published, which includes a statement of when the county commissioners meeting will be held where this issue will be discussed.🔸
- However, the Secretary of State is empowered to issue directives to county election officers necessary to ensure the proper conduct of elections when there is a declared natural disaster or other impending or declared emergency which interferes with an election.
- Boards of county commissioners may establish county-wide satellite absentee polling places.🔸
Key Dates for Wyoming Elections
- August 3, 2020: Deadline to register by mail for the Primary Election
- August 18, 2020: Primary Election Day
- October 19, 2020: Deadline to register by mail for the General Election
- November 3, 2020: General Election Day