RIVERTON — Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray issued a two-page edict last week announcing his departure from his predecessor’s interpretation of the use of ballot drop boxes in elections. Saying such ballot boxes are neither safe nor secure, Gray told the state’s 23 county clerks they ought not to use them in this year’s elections.
But county clerks are pushing back, and Fremont County Clerk Julie Freese said she’s joining some of her colleagues in offering them this election season.
“We at Fremont County Elections want all qualified voters to have the choice of how they wish to vote,” Freese said. “Not all options appeal to all voters, but we hope voters will choose what is best for them and participate in one of our most fundamental rights we have as United States citizens — the right to vote.”
What the law says
Ballot boxes aren’t specifically approved or disproved in state law; W.S. 22-9-113 states that qualified electors shall have ballots “delivered to the clerk.”
In his letter to clerks, Gray said he’s repealing the 2020 former Secretary of State Ed Buchanan directive, issued during the COVID-19 pandemic, and providing for the use of such ballot drop boxes.
“Given the differing interpretations of my predecessors’ support for drop boxes, I want to be unequivocally clear: I do not believe drop boxes represent a safe, secure or statutory basis for absentee voting,” he wrote. “For this reason, they should not be used in the 2024 election and beyond.”
But the Wyoming County Clerks Association, which met on Wednesday following the receipt of Gray’s letter, disagreed. In their reply, they said it’s up to each county clerk’s own discretion to determine whether the use of ballot drop boxes is lawful and appropriate for their county.
“Although not all county clerks have utilized drop boxes, it is not uncommon for the election code to allow an administrative function and leave the decision of implementation to locally elected officials like the county clerk,” they wrote. “As the chief election officers of our respective counties, we are consistently listening to the concerns of our constituents. The voices of our constituents as a whole help guide our decisions on this, and many other, important election administration decisions. Our great state offers a myriad of differences from one corner to the next and for that reason a blanket solution does not always serve those distinct populations in the most practical manner. We hold that the use of ballot drop boxes as a method of ballot deliver is safe, secure and statutorily authorized.”
Gray wrote that the law should be strictly and uniformly applied, and took issue with the fact that some counties use ballot drop boxes, while some do not.
“Consistent interpretation of the election code, not interpretation based on reaching a preset conclusion, is pivotal,” he wrote.
Freese said the use of drop boxes can be practical for the needs of some voters, but also essential for her office to function on election day.
Voters may vote until 7 p.m. on election day, a day when her office must close so all election staff can focus on administering the election. While she said signs can be posted to direct voters to call the office and have a staffer come out and collect their ballot, in the event that a call is missed, ballot boxes help avoid any voter from missing out on getting their ballot turned in on time.
Voting in Fremont County
Election day voting is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and any voter may vote at any of the county’s eight voting centers, including the Lander Fieldhouse, Riverton Fremont Center, Arapahoe Charter School, Kinnear Fire Hall, Dubois Headwaters Center, Shoshoni Senior Citizens Center, Wyoming Indian High School, and Fort Washakie High School. Voters must show an ID.
For early absentee voting, people may vote in person starting 29 days prior to an election (primary – July 23 to August 19) in the basem*nt of the courthouse in Lander (Election Office) from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Absentee voters may request and pick up an absentee ballot in person at the Election Office at the courthouse between July 23 and August 19, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and must show an ID.
You may also request an absentee ballot over the phone to be mailed to you, but you must answer personal information. Voters may return any absentee ballot by mailing through the USPS in the return envelope provided, or by returning it in person to the Election Office at the courthouse.
You may also return any absentee ballot in the secure drop box located in the back parking lot of the courthouse in Lander. Freese said these options are an effort “to provide qualified voters secure and accessible means of voting.”
This story was published on June 8, 2024.
