Governor Mark Gordon concluded his investigation of Weston County Clerk, Becky Hadlock, and gave her a pass.
“Hadlock made many serious mistakes in the 2024 Weston County elections,” according to Gordon. And she “exhibited a high degree of unprofessional and perhaps slipshod management of the election.”
Specifically, he found that Weston County’s chief election officer certified at least three incorrect ballot printings, failed to destroy the false ballots after receiving corrected versions, and then delivered false ballots to multiple polling places on election day.
All of which nullified the votes of hundreds of citizens in Weston County.
Three strikes, right down the middle, but Gordon refused to swing. Somehow he divined that she had no “malicious intent.” Zip. Zero. Nada. And based on this judgment, he refused to let a district court see the evidence and judge for itself.
We’ve heard this line of reasoning before. James Comey did the same thing to Hillary Clinton. The Director of the FBI detailed how the U.S. Secretary of State broke federal law with her bathroom email server, but let her off the hook because it was not “clearly intentional and willful.”
“Intention” is a tricky word. It is meaningless until you ask, “intend to do what?” Did Hadlock intend to change the election’s outcome? Not likely.
Did she intend to skip the required election procedures? It surely seems so. Did she intend to hide her misconduct, after the fact? That’s the million-dollar question.
Election officials are human. They can make unintentional mistakes.
But when those mistakes are compounded by skipping the procedures designed to detect mistakes and then, by lying to law enforcement about those omissions, it raises questions about every other assurance that she has ever given—including her oath of office.
That’s why Gordon’s public admission, “that in Hadlock’s interview she was not as forthcoming as I would have liked for her to be,” is so troubling. And that’s why the deafening silence of the County Clerk’s Association speaks volumes.
On the contrary, Secretary of State Chuck Gray, filed a criminal referral with the attorney general on March 10, 2025. It alleged that Hadlock committed a felony “when she submitted a false post-election audit report to the Secretary of State’s Office.”
Gray’s letter asked two things: first, that the AG prosecute Hadlock’s multiple violations of election code, according to Wyoming Law (W.S. 22-26-121), and second, that the governor commence removal proceedings according to (W.S. 18-3-902).
Gordon never once mentioned Gray’s letter—or Hadlock’s false report—in his decision not to commence removal proceedings. I find that strange.
It is true that Gordon has the sole authority, under W.S. 18-3-902, to decide whether to bring Gray’s request for Hadlock’s removal before a district court judge (Gray’s second request).
But Gordon has no authority to decide whether to prosecute the underlying crimes (Gray’s first request). The attorney general alone has investigation and prosecution authority over election crimes (W.S. 22-26-121(a)).
Gordon’s recent appointment of his attorney general, Bridget Hill, to Wyoming’s Supreme Court has, no doubt, complicated that process. But the referral is still on the AG’s desk. Now, the duty falls to interim Attorney General, Ryan Shelhaas.
By law the attorney general must serve as legal advisor to the secretary of state and must give him a written opinion to the questions he submitted on March 10, 2025 (W.S. 9-1-603(a)(vi)). That duty is not changed by the fact that Shelhaas owes his appointment to the governor.
While it is weird that Gordon issued his decision without waiting for the determination of the AG, Gordon’s opinion should in no way prejudice or influence the work of Shelhaas.
English politician, George Savile once quipped “Men are not hanged for stealing horses, but that horses would not be stolen.”
Likewise, clerks are not prosecuted for violating election code, but that election code would not be violated.
That’s why I respectfully disagree with Gordon’s decision.
I think it sends the wrong message to those who hold the solemn power to conduct the people’s elections. It tells them that they can violate election code with impunity.
That message came through to Wyoming voters loud and clear.
Gordon whiffed his chance to signal the importance of strict adherence to election laws. But the AG is about to step up to the plate. Whether he prosecutes the alleged crimes or not will speak volumes.
Will James Comey’s justice come to Wyoming? Or will all Wyoming citizens—including elected officials—be accountable to the same law?
All eyes are on AG Shelhaas.
Jonathan Lange is a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod pastor in Evanston and Kemmerer and serves the Wyoming Pastors Network. Follow his blog at https://jonathanlange.substack.com/. Email: JLange64@protonmail.com.
