In July, the Management Audit Committee of the Wyoming Legislature issued a subpoena to Weston County Clerk, Becky Hadlock to appear in front of the committee and explain why she made a mistake in certifying elections results.
As the column detailed in July, Hadlock’s conduct had in wrongfully certifying the election results had been investigated three times.
Hadlock had provided the wrong version of ballots to several polling places. When undervotes were discovered, the office was indifferent to investigating the errors.
Hadlock was investigated by Weston County Attorney Michael Stulken, the attorney general’s office, and Gov. Mark Gordon.
All reached the same conclusion. Hadlock showed extreme indifference but should not be removed from office. That decision should be left up to the voters of Weston County.
In a flourish of performance art, the Management Audit Committee issued a subpoena commanding Hadlock to appear in front of the Committee in Casper and give testimony about the election mistake and the failure to catch it.
Hadlock ignored the subpoena. She did not show up for Monday’s meeting. She informed the lawmakers, via letter, she would not come to their tar and feathering because she had a prior commitment.
Why Hadlock did not show up is going to be the topic of much discussion.
Ignoring a subpoena is not the right approach. The correct approach for questioning a subpoena is to move to quash the subpoena and have a judge decide whether the subpoena is valid or not.
Grounds for quashing subpoenas are typically whether or not the subpoena subjects the party to an undue burden.
The question here would have been whether attendance at a politically motivated tribunal to investigate facts that have been thrice investigated is an undue burden or not.
But simply ignoring a subpoena is a really bad idea.
So, the Management Audit Committee has now issued a referral to a district attorney to prosecute Hadlock for not showing up at the committee meeting.
Ignoring a legislative subpoena is a misdemeanor which would subject Hadlock to a $100 fine and a potential of six months in jail.
The legislature cannot prosecute Hadlock. Only an executive branch prosecutor can. It is within the executive branch prosecutor’s discretion as to whether to prosecute ignoring the subpoena or not.
In addition to referring the matter for prosecution, the presiding officer of the legislature can ask a district court judge to compel Hadlock’s attendance. If she fails to attend after a district court judge orders her to attend, she can be held in contempt of court, in addition to the misdemeanor penalties.
We can anticipate a lot of grandstanding.
Politicians who can point to no instances of an election ever being affected one way or another in Wyoming will be quick to jump on their soapboxes to claim they are protecting the sanctity of your election rights by making a show out of Hadlock’s absence at the committee meeting (tar and feathering).
We might expect legislative interference in the prosecution function, turning the prosecutors office into a political showpiece, by demanding prosecutions that meet the legislature’s political agenda.
We might expect calls for Hadlock’s resignation as County Clerk, for her failure to respect the Management Audit Committee’s authority. The legislature can use Eric Cartman as a spokesman.
We might see Hadlock claim she is the victim of a politically motivated attack.
The real show will come next election, when incumbents hot on Hadlock’s trail will boast how they were ensuring the sanctity of our elections. They will claim their intense scrutiny of our elections makes Wyoming safe for democracy.
Of course, they will not be able to point to one election, ever, in the history of the state, which would have had different results, had we not had to suffer through their grandstanding.
Sometimes, self-proclaimed heroes do not need villains.
The sad thing is Hadlock gave them something legitimate about which to complain. The issue will not be on election security, but on keeping irresponsible elected officials from serving in office.
The danger in that analysis is who gets to determine who is irresponsible and unfit for serving. When groups of people start to tell us who can run for office, then we will have real election security issues.
Beware of folks telling you there are there to help you.
Tom Lubnau served in the Wyoming Legislature from 2004 - 2015 and is a former Speaker of the House. He can be reached at: YourInputAppreciated@gmail.com
