Voter turnout, absentee balloting expected to rise
By RUFFIN PREVOST Gazette Wyoming Bureau
CODY - Park County election officials are preparing for what is likely to be an active campaign season, as the filing window for local and state elected offices opened Thursday.
Republican and Democratic presidential primary contests brought high voter turnout across the state, and with all three of Wyoming's congressional seats at stake, summer primaries and the fall general election are also likely to draw strong numbers.
Changes required by new state laws and the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 are being implemented behind the scenes, but should be largely unnoticed by most voters, said Kelly Jensen, Park County clerk.
A new statewide voter registration database will allow elections registrars in every county to check voters' residency and eligibility status.
Though voter fraud in Park County has never been a serious issue, the federally mandated and funded databases are required in every state, she said.
Federally required electronic voting machines are being programmed with new software, and election staffers are receiving training on the system this week, Jensen said.
While the optical-scanning machines electronically tabulate votes, the process still uses paper ballots, which voters mark with pens.
"You fill in spaces on the ballot and run it through the machine, which scans it and tabulates it as it goes through," she said.
The machine is programmed to detect errors such as an over-vote. That happens when instructions require voters, for example, to choose up to three candidates in a race, but the ballot is marked with four or more choices.
"It kicks the ballot back out and you can see if you made a mistake, and if you choose to, you can revote," Jensen said.
Paper ballots are stored and can be hand-counted to verify the machine tally if there is a question about the totals.
Separate machines are also available for voters with special needs, including those who are visually impaired or have limited mobility, Jensen said.
Requests for absentee ballots are up this year over recent years, she said.
"There are people who have decided they would prefer to have the ballot early so they can study it and vote on their own time frame, and that seems to be a trend not only nationwide but here too," Jensen said.
The latest figures for Park County show 13,588 total registered voters, just under 78 percent as Republicans, 14 percent as Democrats, 8 percent as unaffiliated and less than 1 percent as Libertarians.
While 14 percent may seem like a small showing for Democrats, Jensen said it was the highest share of registered voters, by a small margin, the party had seen in the last several election periods.
Still, Democrats' comparatively sparse numbers in the county can make it tough for officials looking to represent all parties among election judges, counting boards and other volunteer groups.
"It creates an interesting challenge in trying to fill all those slots with people from every party," she said, adding that up to 250 volunteers typically help with elections.
The filing period for local and statewide offices ends May 30, and prospective candidates must be registered voters in the district where they are running.
The deadline for filing as an unaffiliated candidate is Aug. 25, and filers must have a petition signed by at least 232 registered voters, which is 2 percent of those county voters who cast ballots in the last congressional election.
The primary election is Aug. 19, and the general election is Nov. 4, with registration closing 30 days prior to each election.
Primary election absentee ballots are available July 10, and general election absentee ballots are available Sept. 25.
Residents may also register and vote on Election Day, but they should bring to the polls a government-issued photo identification or two other forms of official identification and documentation of residency.
Previously registered voters will not need identification to vote.
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