Absentee voting continues in Wyoming

County Clerk Mary Grace Strauch reports that there are currently 3,927 registered voters in the county, and, so far, 362 absentee ballots have been sent out and 203 have been returned.

Absentee voting continues until Nov. 5.

Strauch also reminds voters that registration is best done at the office of the clerk or city, as there is no verified way to register or vote online, despite many online organizations that offer the services.

Voters can still register to vote until Oct. 22, but after that date, all new registrations must vote on the same day that they register, according to state law.

Voters may also register the day of the election, at their polling place.

Strauch also reports no known cases of voter fraud in Washakie County, despite some concerns with early voters trying to vote again on Election Day.

Due to the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), punch card and lever voting machines were phased out across the United States, and each state had to comply with a comprehensive voter registration system.

Under HAVA, $8 million was provided to Wyoming by the federal government to replace voting equipment and build computerized voter registrations system, which is still in use.

In 2005, then Wyoming Secretary of State Joe Meyer forecasted the need for a plan to eventually replace the equipment, and House Bill 0080 was introduced, but failed to be considered by the Senate.

Since that time, no effort has been made to replace systems which may need replaced within the next 10 years.

Current voting issues, beyond needing new equipment, include a lack of election judges statewide, a loss of polling places, the state budget deficit, outdated voting equipment and software, and the chance of county-level failure to count votes, which would elicit Department of Justice intervention.