elections

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By Leo Wolfson, political reporter
Leo@CowboyStateDaily.com

Representatives from a Park County civil liberty advocacy group are opposing a consideration in the county to hand count ballots from the 2020 election.

“There is an undue privilege being allowed to this group or any other group to recount,” said Renee Tafoya, a representative with Wyoming Rising, during a Park County commissioner meeting on Tuesday.

In May, the Park County Commissioners said they would consider allowing a group of local citizens to hand count the more than 17,000 ballots cast in the 2020 election in that county to determine the accuracy of the results presented by the machines.

Bryan Skoric, Park County prosecuting attorney, said he would seek guidance from the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office on the matter. At the commissioner meeting on Tuesday, the commissioners said they still had not heard back from the AG.

The proposal submitted by Cody resident Boone Tidwell and the Park County Republican Men’s Club, which later changed its name to The Sons of Freedom, was to test the accuracy of voting machines by hand counting every single ballot cast in this year’s county primary and general elections. That request was rejected, but a second proposition to count the 2020 results is still on the table.

No other Wyoming county has given this level of consideration to a hand count, but several counties around the country have recently decided to start making steps toward doing so, and certain locations already count their votes this way.

Tafoya and Phyllis Roseberry, both members of the Wyoming Rising leadership team, said allowing the hand count would be a waste of taxpayer money and create suspicion and doubt where none should exist. They also warned the commissioners about possible legal action they could incur if granting approval for the hand count but provided no legal testimony to substantiate this argument.

“To grant this group would cast doubt onto the Secretary of State’s Office and the entire election,” Roseberry warned.

The cost of doing a hand count could actually be minimal to the county, as Tidwell said his group will commit to not accepting any payment for the training they would receive to become election judges, a necessary requirement to inspect the ballots. But, county staff would still have to spend time and wages training these individuals.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a vocal proponent of former President Donald Trump’s stolen 2020 election claims, recently said those who don’t believe the Wyoming election was rigged are traitors.

Tidwell said previously, he has grave concerns there will be a low turnout for this year’s elections due to lack of trust. Tafoya expressed doubt about this claim and said there are “thousands” of people in Wyoming who trust current election security. 

“It’s meant to undermine trust in elections,” Tafoya said of the hand ballot proposal. “The claims of fraud are out of left field; they’re trying to cast doubt instead of trying to actually find fraud.”

Tidwell described Tafoya and Roseberry’s presentation as “fear porn.”

“No substance. Full of lies,” he said.

The commissioners held no discussion in response, but Commissioner Joe Tilden said he agrees with Roseberry and Tafoya.

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By Clair McFarland, Cowboy State Daily 

Some Wyoming Democrats are switching parties to register as Republicans for the upcoming primary election, according to a longtime county clerk, prompting her to urge voters to practice their own form of election integrity.

Incumbent U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, who was censured by her own party in February, is being challenged in the Republican primary election for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat by Cheyenne attorney Harriet Hageman and others.  

Julie Freese, Fremont County’s clerk for 28 years, said she is hearing on-the-ground commentary from traditional Democrats saying they’re registering as Republicans solely to vote for Cheney in the Republican primary.

“We have had people come in recently to change from Democrat to Republican,” Freese told Cowboy State Daily, “and they have told us, ‘I am changing my party to vote for Liz Cheney.’ That’s what they’ve said, flat out.”  

Not everyone who makes the switch tells the clerk’s staff why they’re doing it, she added.  

“If they aren’t telling us why they’re doing it, it’s private,” Freese said, adding that “a large amount of people… are not telling us why they’re changing.”  

Freese said she could not accurately estimate what percentage of crossover voters are making the change to influence the Republican primary.  

“But that’s what the frustration is,” she added. “It’s been pretty boldly stated in the last two or three elections (including the current one) that they’re doing it to affect the other party’s race somehow.”  

Freese later clarified at a Fremont County Republican central committee meeting that in her duties as a clerk, she wouldn’t interfere with crossover voting because statute allows for it, but as an individual, she disagrees with it.  

Party Shift On The Reservation 

Every legislative district in Fremont County is predominantly Republican as of this week, which, because of the traditional Democratic leanings of one House district, is an unusual shift.  

House District 33 covers the Wind River Indian Reservation, which traditionally votes for Democratic presidential candidates and has elected Democratic state Rep. Andi LeBeau of Ethete, to the Legislature in the last two elections.

Bring Your Best 

The primary election “is the time for the two (major political) parties to take their best candidates to the general election,” Freese told Cowboy State Daily.    

Freese emphasized that primary elections are designed to be party-specific so true party members on either side can choose the candidate they favor before sending that candidate on to challenge the other party in the general election.  

“That’s the crux of the matter,” said Freese. “This is a political party process – and there are some that are playing the politics.”  

She clarified that the process of crossing from Democrat to Republican, which is one form of “crossover voting,” is and has been popular in Wyoming for years, for various reasons – some more benign than others. 

“It has evolved over the years,” said Freese. “In all my years, (registered Democrats) have said, ‘I don’t have anything on my (primary) ballot, and this is an exciting race.’”  

Freese noted that because most Wyoming counties are predominantly Republican, many Democrats receive blank or nearly-blank ballots for the primary election and regret not being able to determine the Republican candidate for a sheriff’s seat, or a county commissioner’s seat, for example.  

Because a legislative bill seeking to ban crossover voting in Wyoming failed in the state Legislature this session, the practice remains legal in the state, regardless of the reasons behind it.  

Freese told Fremont County Republican central committee members at a Monday meeting that she didn’t have much faith in the practicality of an anti-crossover voting law and would prefer for voters to practice political integrity on their own.  

“People are going to find a way to get to where they want to get,” she said, addressing the failed bill. “As soon as they figure out what they can’t do – they’re going to do what they have to, to get to that (desired party).  

“In any talks I’ve had,” continued Freese, “I’ve said, this is (the party’s) time to find the best candidate… it’s a process and I realize you want to be involved. Be involved by being one or the other party and maybe stay that way (when the ideology fits).”  

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By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily

The Wyoming Republican Party passed a resolution over the weekend supporting runoff elections, although the Wyoming Legislature killed a bill earlier this year that would have established just such a system.

The resolution the organization passed during its State Central Committee meeting in Buffalo over the weekend called for a runoff election to be held if no candidate in an election receives a majority of the votes cast.

In races with three or more candidates, it is possible for a candidate to win even though he or she might win less than 50% of the votes cast.

“Whereas, in plurality election outcomes, when more than two candidates are running for the same office, may not be representative of a simple majority of the electorate and consequently, lack of the mandate of the people,” the resolution said.

A bill that would have called for a runoff election to be held between the leading two candidates in a race if no candidate received a majority of the votes cast in the primary election died in the Legislature during the spring session.

Senate File 145 was narrowly defeated in its third reading in the Senate on a vote of 14-15.

Former President Donald Trump said in July that Wyoming should have a runoff election to get U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney out of office.

In a statement, Trump said that Wyoming voters want a clear majority winner in the Republican primary for the state’s lone U.S. House seat and the only mechanism that accomplishes this is a runoff election, “pitting the top two candidates against each other.”

“Conservative Republicans in the Wyoming State Legislature like Senator Bo Biteman and Representative Chip Nieman led this effort. Unfortunately and sadly for Wyoming voters, RINO State Legislators stood in the way, defeating the Run-Off Election bills,” Trump.

Earlier this year, Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. voiced his support for run-off elections in the state as well.

The younger Trump framed his argument in support of the bill as opposition to Cheney, one of a handful of Republicans in the U.S. House to vote for the impeachment of the former president.

“The easiest way to defeat Deplorable Liz Cheney is by having only ONE Conservative candidate run and WIN! Wyoming Patriots will no longer stand for Nancy Pelosi and her new lapdog RINO Liz Cheney!” the elder Trump said in July.

Cheney handily won both the primary and general elections in 2020. In her first bid for Congress in 2016, she won almost 40% of the votes cast in the Republican primary, but not a majority of all votes cast.

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By Wendy Corr, Ellen Fike and Jennifer Kocher, Cowboy State Daily

Following the questions about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, county clerks in Wyoming have seen an uptick from people who are concerned with the election process.

Deputy clerk for Park County Hans Odde told Cowboy State Daily he is confident that elections in Wyoming are airtight, but there are still those who question it.

“We have had people who’ve come in and registered to vote, and a large number of them who come in from other states or communities have questions about how we run our elections,” Odde said.

“We have a fair number of folks who want to know what kind of election equipment we have, are we using Dominion products? Or do we use electronic tabulators or paper ballots? It runs run the gamut of all of the election conspiracy theories, it really does,” he said.

But Odde said that many who have moved to the area have heard good things about Wyoming’s elections.

“They’re pleased to hear that we are now taking or requesting an ID be shown at the polling location when they go to vote,” he said.

But for those who continue to have questions, Odde said there’s only so much he can only do to reassure them.

“I try and give them the confidence that hey, you’re talking to the people right here in front of you that run your election,” he said. “You can look me in the eye, you can come in and you can view our process.”

Odde said that many voters are concerned that illegal votes are being cast via absentee ballot.

“I assure them that no ballot gets mailed in Wyoming without the voter requesting a ballot,” he said. “They’re worried about illegal aliens voting, they’re worried about the theories out there that have been espoused on social media, and some on mainstream media.”

And although it’s been over a year since the last election, Odde said that the questions are still coming in.

“Election Wasn’t Stolen”

“I just had folks come in on Monday, saying, ‘We’ve got to get registered and we’ve got to vote because we don’t want this next election to be stolen.’” Odde said they seemed shocked when he says with certainty that President Biden won the election fairly.

“I’ve been to national conferences with election officials from all over this country,” he said. “And I’ve never met anyone who was involved in elections that wanted to move votes so that one candidate or another would win. I don’t see how an election official could move that many ballots without it being obvious, like a shining beacon in the night.”

Odde expressed his highest faith in the staff at the Park County Clerk’s office, as well as the Secretary of State’s Office.

“Our Secretary of State is very, very committed to cybersecurity, and making sure that our systems are not connected to the internet in any way,” he said, addressing the concern that someone could tap into the electronic voting system and change the outcome.

“I’m very proud of what we do,” he said. “And I’m very confident in what we do. I think Wyoming is extremely secure. County clerks are working with the secretary of state right now, to develop stronger rules to govern our post-election audit. We do a pre-election audit, and we do a post-election audit, and those are both required by. And we continue to try and make them stronger and more applicable to the times we’re in.”

Natrona County

Natrona County voters also had questions about the type of voting machines used, according to Natrona County Clerk Tracy Good. Mostly these questions surrounded the type of machines and software used and whether or not they were Dominion systems.

“Some constituents wanted to know what procedures we follow and how we know ballots are being read right,” she said.

Good explained that their 46 voting machines, one per precinct, were Election Systems and Software (ES&S) machines that were purchased by the state in 2019 for all Wyoming counties. Unlike other systems, the ES&S systems do not have modems or any ability to connect to the internet.

In a release from Wyoming Secretary of State announcing the purchase of the new voting equipment, Secretary of State Edward Buchanan referred to them as the “most secure and up-to-date voting equipment on the market.

Good confirmed the accuracy of the machines and said they perform quality control tests before all elections to make sure that ballots are being read correctly and from the appropriate precincts, including the special election yesterday that she said went well.

Other than those questions, Good said there haven’t been any requests for tours or personal visits to inquire about the process.

Laramie County

Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee said that other than an increase in public records requests for 2020 election results, there had not been many questions about election integrity this year during the special election. 

“It’s an off year, so we didn’t have many questions,” she said. “However, I have seen more people asking about the election process. where their ballots go, things like that. I think that’s great, we want more people involved with the voting process.” 

She did note that her office did have some questions about their voting machines, which are also Elections Systems and Software equipment.

Lee recommended that anyone interested in the voting machines can come to the public test of the equipment, which is always done prior to the start of early voting. The information for the public test is always publicized through the county clerk’s website. 

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By Jim Angell, Cowboy State Daily

A Wyoming law prohibiting campaign activities within 300 feet of a polling place on election days is unconstitutional because the “buffer zone” is unreasonably large, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal, in a July 22 order, ruled in support of arguments that the law banning “electioneering” within 100 yards of a polling place is an unreasonable restriction on First Amendment rights to free speech.

“(The state and county) did not meet their burden to demonstrate that the statute’s 100-yard electioneering buffer zone is ‘reasonable and does not significantly impinge on constitutionally protected rights,’” Freudenthal’s order said.

Freudenthal also overturned a portion of the state law placing restrictions on bumper stickers placed on cars within 100 yards of polling places, but upheld the state’s ban on electioneering within 100 feet of a polling place during the state’s absentee voting period.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed against the state and Laramie County by John Frank and Grassfire, LLC. Frank said he wanted to display and share campaign signs, literature, bumper stickers and other materials within 100 yards of the polling place at Laramie County Community College.

Grassfire, a political consulting company, said it wanted to gather signatures on petitions within 100 feet of the Laramie County Governmental Complex during absentee voting and the 100-foot barrier in effect during those periods would prevent the company from working on the sidewalk surrounding the building.

Neither Frank nor Grassfire have taken part in electioneering activities at either location in the past.

State law prohibits activities such as displaying campaign signs, distributing campaign literature or soliciting signatures from people within 100 yards of a polling place during election days and within 100 feet of polling places when absentee votes are being cast. It allows the display of bumper stickers within those areas, but places size restrictions on the bumper stickers and allows the car carrying the stockers to be parked in the area only as long as is required for its driver to vote.

Frank and Grassfire argued the 300-foot buffer zone on election days is unreasonably large and  interferes with rights to free speech.

Freudenthal cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld similar restrictions within a 100-foot area surrounding a polling place, but agreed that 100 yards is too large.

“(The state and county) have presented no argument — and offered no evidence — to explain why the statute requires an electioneering buffer zone much larger than the regulation upheld (by the U.S. Supreme Court),” the order said.

The Legislature set the buffer zone during absentee voting at 100 feet, Freudenthal said.

“The record is silent as to why a different zone was selected by the Legislature for this period given that the state concedes its interests are no different,” she wrote. 

Freudenthal also said there was no evidence to prove that bumper stickers should be considered part of “electioneering” efforts.

“The purpose of regulating electioneering is delineated by a state’s interest in preventing voter intimidation and election fraud,” she wrote. “Here, the court cannot see how bumper stickers on vehicles could lead to voter intimidation or election fraud.”

However, the 100-foot buffer zone for absentee voting periods is a reasonable restriction, Freudenthal ruled.

“… (No) specific arguments were presented to the court as to why the state’s interest in protecting absentee voters from confusion and undue influence should be any less than it is for election-day voters,” the opinion said.

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