Following multiple reports that some counties’ public testing of voting equipment did not assign a different number of valid votes to each candidate for an office during their respective public testing of voting equipment as required by statute, Secretary of State Chuck Gray sent a letter to all county clerks, requesting those whose test failed to comply with Wyoming law to retest the electronic voting systems they intend to use in the 2024 Primary Election in conformance with Wyoming law. The counties’ public test of voting equipment is set forth as an obligation of the county clerks in W.S. 22-11-104.
“As outlined in our office’s June 25, 2024 guidance, W.S. 22-11-104(b)(iii) unambiguously states that ‘[d]uring the test a different number of valid votes shall be assigned to each candidate for an office, and for and against each measure,’ Secretary Gray wrote. “This requirement is not just a formality. It is crucial. Assigning the same number of votes for two or more candidates in the same race is plainly contrary to that statute.”
“This problem was not isolated to Laramie County. Multiple counties failed to assign a different number of valid votes to each candidate for their test ballots, as evidenced in their summary and detailed reports. With this letter, I am asking each and every county whose public test failed to comply with W.S. 22-11-104(b)(iii) to retest each voting system they intend to use in the 2024 Primary Election in accordance with Wyoming law, and certify to our office that this test has been redone.”