Bill > SF0190

This bill introduces several significant changes to Wyoming's election laws, with a focus on election transparency and security. The bill mandates paper ballots as the default voting method for in-person voting, requiring county clerks to provide voters with paper ballots that can be hand-marked secretly and automatically tabulated. While electronic ballot marking devices will still be available for voters who choose to use them, they cannot be the default method. The bill also strengthens voter registration requirements by mandating proof of United States citizenship through various accepted documents, such as passports, birth certificates, or state-issued identification. Additionally, the legislation modifies recount procedures, establishing new rules for hand-counting ballots in close elections, including mandatory hand recounts for federal, statewide, and legislative races where the margin of victory is less than 1-2%. The bill creates a new election recount account with an initial appropriation of $200,000 to support these hand-counting efforts and extends absentee voting periods, adjusts election date calculations, and makes numerous technical amendments to existing election laws. These changes aim to increase election transparency, ensure voter eligibility, and provide more robust mechanisms for verifying election results.

Budget and Finance, Government Affairs

https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2025/SF0190