In the future, Wyomingites could be filling out their ballots from the comfort of their own home. A proposed bill to allow counties to move to mail-in ballot elections cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, passing out of the Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Interim Committee on an 11-2 vote. But whether or not it finds support in the full Legislature next session remains to be seen. The bill would give county clerks the option to switch over their elections to a mail-in ballot. Voters would receive a ballot at their residence and could drop it off or mail it back to the county clerk’s office, or drop it off at one of several secured ballot drop boxes across the county. The bill also mandates the county have one polling center open on the day of the election where voters could drop off a ballot or fill one out.
One of the main focuses of the discussion Wednesday in the committee was the security aspect of main-in ballot elections. Several members ran down multiple scenarios with county clerks on what would happen if someone received two ballots, tried to vote twice, tried to vote because they were afraid their ballot wouldn’t reach the county clerk’s office in time for the election or if they hadn’t received a ballot.
Teton County Clerk Sherry Daigle said the electronic tracking systems the state already has in place would enable county clerks to see if someone has voted or received a ballot. A voter must sign their name to their ballot, and those signatures would be checked against the one on file to ensure the proper person filled out the ballot.
Full Article: Mail-in ballot proposal for Wyoming clears major hurdle | Local News | wyomingnews.com.