LCC 7-7-21
Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee confirmed today that errors were made by her office in the calculation of Republican and Democratic precinct committee people at last year’s Primary Election. The calculation errors, which were published in the May 21, 2020 Election Proclamation affected 10 precincts for the Republican Party and 12 for the Democratic Party. Laramie County has 61 precincts. The errors resulted in some precincts electing one too many committee positions and others being short one. No other races were involved.
State law provides that each major political party in each precinct “shall elect one committeeman and one committeewoman for each 250 votes or major fraction thereof cast for the party’s candidate for representative in congress in the last general election. A precinct is entitled to no less than one precinct committeeman and precinct committeewoman.”
Lee said the error was brought to her attention last week by a political party member in another county.
Upon learning of the error, Lee met with the Laramie County chairs of the two parties to inform them of the mistake and of measures that will be put in place next year to confirm the accuracy of the calculations. Those measures include giving each party the opportunity to review precinct committee numbers before the election proclamation is prepared. The spreadsheet containing calculations for precinct committee persons will also be posted on the Clerk’s website.
“The Clerk’s office deeply regrets this error. We work closely with the political parties throughout the election process and will continue to do so to ensure our elections are conducted with accuracy, transparency, and integrity,” Lee said.
Lee noted that Wyoming law contains a number of safeguards to ensure election integrity. Among those safeguards is the ability of electors to point out any errors or omissions in ballots to the county clerk and to petition the district court if they believe the clerk did not correct the mistake. Election results are reviewed and certified by canvassing boards at the county and state level, with an appeal process in place for candidates who disagree with a canvassing board’s decision.
