A House committee Tuesday forwarded a bill that would allow county clerks to establish centralized voting places for future elections. Senate File 52 previously passed the Senate and now has three rounds of voting before potentially becoming law. In Wyoming, people vote by geographical precinct. A county voting center would be a place where anyone, regardless of their precinct, could vote. Laramie County Clerk Debbye Lathrop told members of the House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee voting centers would be helpful to someone who lives in one town and works in a larger city, where a voting center could located. Instead of having to drive home during the lunch hour, the voter could cast a ballot in the city.
Rep. Tyler Lindholm, R-Sundance, worried about disenfranchisement of rural voters. He’s concerned polling centers would result in the closure of rural voting places.
“Rural polling places are at risk as it is now,” Lathrop said, adding that in Laramie County in the past decade, three polling places have had to close because Lathrop couldn’t find poll workers.
Full Article: Voting centers bill marches ahead in Wyoming Legislature.