SF 113

ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. SF0113
       ENROLLED ACT NO. 61, SENATE
       SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
                    2026 BUDGET SESSION
AN ACT relating to elections; requiring the completion of a
hand count by the county clerk of each county in the 2026
primary and general elections; specifying requirements of
the hand count; requiring reporting; and providing for an
effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
     Section 1.    W.S. 22-8-101(d) and 22-8-102 are amended
to read:
     22-8-101. Notice of election officials needed; county
chairmen to submit list of names; municipal clerks list of
names appointment.
     (d) Not later than June 30, the county clerk on each
general election year shall appoint judges of election and
counting boards and alternates from lists submitted by the
county chairmen of the major and minor political parties.
This subsection shall not apply to judges appointed by the
county clerk to serve on audit boards.
    22-8-102.     Qualifications.
Except as otherwise provided by this section, judges of
election and members of counting boards shall be registered
electors and shall be physically, morally and mentally
competent to perform their duties. The county clerk may
appoint persons who are at least sixteen (16) years of age
to serve as judges of election or members of counting
boards if such persons meet all other requirements for
qualification of an elector. A judge of election shall not
be a member of a counting board at the same election except
as provided by W.S. 22-8-108(d) and except as provided in
this section. For the 2026 primary and general elections, a
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ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. SF0113
       ENROLLED ACT NO. 61, SENATE
       SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
                    2026 BUDGET SESSION
judge of election shall not be a member of a counting board
at the same election except as provided by W.S. 22-8-108(d)
or for the purposes of a hand count audit.
    Section 2.
     (a) In addition to the audits required under W.S.
22-6-130 and 22-11-109, each county clerk shall conduct a
hand count audit of actual ballots cast on election day
following the 2026 primary and 2026 general elections. The
purpose of the hand count audit is to complete a physical
examination of as close to five percent (5%) of the total
number of ballots cast on election day per county as
possible and compare the results of the hand count audit to
the results tabulated by electronic equipment. Each county
clerk shall conduct a hand count audit of the ballots for
one (1) federal race and one (1) statewide race as selected
by the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall
notify the county clerk of each county which races shall be
audited not later than close of business on the Wednesday
following the election. The secretary of state may select
different federal and statewide races to be audited for
each county, but in no instance shall the secretary of
state select more than one (1) federal race and one (1)
statewide race per county. In addition to the races
selected by the secretary of state, the county clerk shall
conduct a hand count audit of each legislative race printed
on the ballot. The county canvassing board may audit
additional races in addition to those selected by the
secretary of state pursuant to the requirements of this
section. The results of each hand count audit and the
electronic count shall be compared to determine if there
were any inconsistencies or errors in the electronic voting
system count.
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ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. SF0113
       ENROLLED ACT NO. 61, SENATE
       SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
                    2026 BUDGET SESSION
     (b) For the 2026 primary election and 2026 general
election, the county canvassing board shall select a
requisite number of electronic tabulating machines whose
cumulative number of ballots cast on election day totals as
close to five percent (5%) of the total number of ballots
cast in their respective county as possible. The county
clerk shall audit the ballots tabulated by those electronic
tabulating machines selected by the county canvassing board
and compare to the hand count audit result. The hand count
audit shall be conducted not later than nine (9) days after
the county canvass.
     (c) Each hand count audit conducted        under     this
section shall be conducted as follows:
          (i) The county clerk shall appoint audit boards
prior to the conclusion of the county canvass but shall not
be required to appoint the boards by the deadline set in
W.S. 22-8-101(d). The county clerk may appoint as many
audit boards as necessary, provided each audit board shall
be made up of not less than three (3) qualified electors
with not greater than two (2) judges per audit board being
from the same political party;
          (ii) In addition to any races selected by the
county canvassing board, audit boards appointed by the
county clerk shall audit those races selected by the
secretary of state and each legislative office printed on
the ballot. The audit boards appointed by the county clerk
shall audit those races on ballots that were tabulated by
the equipment selected by the county canvassing board;
          (iii) Audit boards appointed by the county clerk
under this section shall tabulate each mark, undervote or
overvote as would be counted by electronic tabulating
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ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. SF0113
       ENROLLED ACT NO. 61, SENATE
       SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
                    2026 BUDGET SESSION
equipment   according   to   the   instructions   printed   on   the
ballot.
     (d) Any   inconsistencies or  errors  between  the
original count tabulated by the electronic tabulating
machines and the hand count audit required under this
section shall be reported to the secretary of state not
less than nine (9) days after the date of the county
canvass.
     (e) The hand count audit required under this section
shall be reported by the secretary of state to the joint
corporations, elections and political subdivisions interim
committee on or before May 1, 2027.
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ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. SF0113
       ENROLLED ACT NO. 61, SENATE
       SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
                    2026 BUDGET SESSION
     Section 3. This act is effective immediately upon
completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law
as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming
Constitution.
                             (END)
Speaker of the House  President of the Senate
                           Governor
                  TIME APPROVED: _________
                  DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the Senate.
Chief Clerk
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