CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming’s Primary Election Day is on the horizon this week, and with all the buildup comes plenty of swirling information that can be difficult to wrap one’s head around.
Don’t know where to start? Have voting questions? Here’s a guide of what to expect for Election Day in Laramie County on Tuesday:
VOTING WHAT-TO-KNOWS:
Laramie County residents are able to vote at any certified polling location in the county on Election Day. There are a total of seven places to cast a ballot in the county — six in Cheyenne and one in Pine Bluffs — listed later on in this article. All polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
There are three types of ballots for the primary election — Republican, Democrat and nonpartisan — with voters receiving the ballot that matches their voting registration.
Wyoming law also includes provisions to allow working people to vote. Wyoming Statute 22-2-111 entitles people to take an hour off of work, not counting meal times, between the opening and closing of polls in order to go vote.
The hour off of work to go vote is to be taken “at the convenience of the employer, between the time of opening and closing of the polls,” Statute 22-2-111 states. “Such elector shall not, because of so absenting himself, lose any pay, providing he actually casts his legal vote.”
The provision does not apply to people who have three or more “consecutive nonworking hours during the time the polls are open.”
The League of Women Voters offers another source of voting and candidate information for voters in Laramie County at vote411.org.
Cap City News has been publishing candidate questionnaires and other election-related stories. Those can be found under the Cap City News Elections tab.
Voting and precinct information, along with sample ballots, is available on the county’s website.
VOTING REQUIREMENTS:
If one is not yet registered to vote, new registration can be completed directly at the polls during Election Day. Due to the primary election being less than 14 days away, any changes to existing party affiliation must occur at the polls — and not at a town or county clerk’s office — during early voting or Election Day.
Prospective voters must be citizens of the United States, at least 18 years old and Wyoming residents, and cannot be currently adjudicated mentally incompetent or have been previously convicted of a felony. Those who voted in the state’s 2020 General Election are already registered except in the event of a county, name and/or address change; those who fall under those categories are encouraged to contact their county clerk by the Secretary of State’s office.
The state started requiring voters to show identification to vote last summer, and ID is additionally required for any changes to party affiliation. There are a number of acceptable forms of voter ID people can show at the polls Tuesday, according to the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office.
Acceptable forms of voter ID include:
- Wyoming driver’s license
- Wyoming ID Card
- Tribal ID Card
- Valid U.S. Passport
- U.S. Military Card
- Driver’s license or ID Card from another state
- University of Wyoming student ID
- Wyoming community college student ID
- Wyoming public school student ID
- Valid Medicare insurance card
- Valid Medicaid insurance card
“If you do not have one of the documents in the list above, you may obtain a free Wyoming Identification Card from your local Driver Services office,” the Secretary of State’s Office notes. “Click here to find your nearest office.“
Voter ID is not required for people who mail in absentee ballots under Wyoming law, the Secretary of State’s Office notes.
POLLING LOCATIONS (Open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday)
Since July 1, Laramie County residents have had the ability to cast their primary election ballots early in the atrium of the Laramie County Governmental Complex at 309 W. 20th St. in Cheyenne. That polling site is open until 4:30 p.m. Monday, with sample ballots additionally available for voters to take home.
The locations on offer for Election Day, as listed on the county’s website, are as follows:
Cheyenne
- David D. Romero Park, 1317 Parsley Blvd.
- Storey Gym, 2811 House Ave.
- Kiwanis Community House, 4603 Lions Park Drive
- North Christian Church, 2015 Tranquility Road
- Laramie County Community College Center for Conferences & Institutes, 1400 E. College Drive
- Event Center at Archer, 3801 Archer Parkway
Pine Bluffs
- Pine Bluffs Community Center, 708 Lawson St.
