Despite calls from some area residents and the Park County Republican Party for a hand count of the upcoming elections, local ballots will again be tabulated by electronic machines in 2024.

After a small amount of discussion on Tuesday, Park County commissioners unanimously adopted the continued use of the county’s DS200 and DS450 tabulators, which were manufactured by the Nebraska-based Elections Systems and Software (ES&S). All votes will continue to be cast on paper ballots that are then scanned and counted by the ES&S machines.

In February, a group led by state Sen. Dan Laursen (R-Powell) and Cody resident Dave McMillan asked the commissioners to order a hand count of the ballots cast in the upcoming election instead of continuing to use electronic tabulators; commissioners said they would investigate the issue.

Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who appeared at that meeting by Zoom, said part of the frustration was “the lack of a more complete form of verification of the machines.” Gray pointed to a section of state statute that says commissioners “may” adopt a type of voting machine; he said that implies the commissioners could also choose to not adopt any voting machines and instead vote by hand.

However, in response to a similar request in 2022, Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric issued an opinion concluding that state law requires ballots to tabulated by via machines.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Commissioner Lee Livingston said he recently spoke with Gray about hand counting and that they disagree about the law. Livingston said he supports hand counting ballots after the election as a way to verify vote totals, but he doesn’t believe the statute allows for that.

“This is stuff that should be addressed via legislation,” Livingston added. “And we’ve had legislators in these discussions before, but I haven't seen anything coming from a legislative level to address this.”

He mentioned that the county’s machines are publicly tested ahead of each election, with anyone able to attend those tests.

The commission’s re-approval of the electronic tabulation machines came as dozens of people who had called for a hand count looked on at the Cody Library’s Grizzly Hall; as it was not a public hearing, no public comment was taken.

Commissioners did take comment before approving a separate proposal from elections staff to consolidate several voting precincts in Powell and Cody. While staff said it would simplify the administration of the election by reducing the number of ballot types, many Park County Republican Party officials opposed the change, contending it could lead to less diverse representation on the party’s central committee. See next week’s Powell Tribune for a full story on the issue.

Wyoming’s primary election will be held Aug. 20, with the general election on Nov. 5.