CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming’s four-member canvassing board has approved the election results for the Cowboy State’s 23 counties.
On Wednesday morning, Secretary of State Chuck Gray held a public meeting in the Wyoming State Capitol Complex Auditorium to review this year’s 2024 general election. The board — consisting of Gray, Gov. Gordon, State Auditor Kristi Racines and State Treasurer Curt Meier — reviewed key highlights of this year’s election.
Gray, who serves as board chair, and his three fellow board members unanimously approved the general election results. The state canvassing board is responsible for certifying races for U.S. president, U.S. legislative office, Wyoming state legislative positions and ballot propositions.
County canvassing boards are responsible for certifying local city council and school board races, Gray said. Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee said the county’s canvassing board certified results for races in the City of Cheyenne, county school boards, county offices and conservation district on Friday.
Election takeaways
This year’s general election saw “tremendous turnout,” said C.J. Young, director of Wyoming’s Elections Division. Across the state, 271,123 Wyomingites turned out to vote. The number of registered voters on record the day before Nov. 5 was 256,251, Young said. The higher number of votes cast compared to registered voters is due to day-of registration.
Wyoming’s voting-age population is currently 454,508. This means 59.7% of those old enough to vote turned out for the election, Young said.
Absentee votes were popular in this year’s election cycle, as 45% of registered voters had returned their absentee ballots as of the morning of Nov. 5. The total number of ballots requested early was 118,959. Ninety-seven percent of those ballots were submitted to respective local election offices as of the morning of Election Day.
Twenty-one of Wyoming’s 23 counties reported no issues in their post-election audits, Young said, resulting in a 99% confidence level in the election. One discrepancy occurred in Platte County, where a ballot was tabulated incorrectly.
The election in Weston County faced several challenges, Gray and Young noted during Wednesday’s meeting, but concerns and mistakes during the county’s election proceedings were ultimately rectified.
No write-in campaigns succeeded in any Wyoming race this year. As far as candidate participation goes, the state saw three federal races, 77 legislative races, 30 retention elections and one constitutional amendment, according to Young.
Ballot recounts were not required in any of the races across the state. However, Albany County requested a recount for House District 13. The recount occurred Tuesday and did not impact the race’s certified results.
