Absentee ballots now available

Sweetwater County residents wanting to vote from the comfort of their own home can request an absentee ballot from the county.

“Wyoming’s citizens can begin to cast their ballots in the general election. In these unprecedented times, it is crucial that every Wyoming voter has the opportunity to safely exercise their right to vote either by absentee or in-person as outlined in Wyoming law,” Secretary of State Edward Buchanan said in a press release.

Sweetwater County Clerk Cindy Lane said the ballots were made available to residents Friday, with the county sending more than 4,200 ballots to residents. Lane said her family received their ballots Monday, but recommends residents seeking an absentee ballot to give at least five days after making the request to receive a ballot.

Any voter registered in Wyoming may request an absentee ballot through their county clerk as 45 days before the general election. Absentee voting continues until Nov. 2. According to the release the Secretary of State’s Office has taken precautions to allow safe and fast in-person voting at the polls on election day.

Absentee ballots can be sent back to the Sweetwater County Clerk’s Office or dropped off at a special ballot box located in front of the Sweetwater County Courthouse in Green River. Lane said she received questions about why such boxes were not available throughout the county, saying the box is monitored by a high-resolution security camera and checked twice a day by election staff.

She said similar boxes throughout the county would be difficult to monitor and check twice daily, especially in towns such as Washam, Wamsutter and Bairoil.

Lane said residents wanting to know if their ballot was received can call the Sweetwater County Clerk’s Office to have election staff check their ballot’s status. If a ballot is not received prior to election day, Lane said the voters could have their absentee ballots canceled, which would allow them to cast their vote during the election.

Lane said she isn’t sure how long it would take ballots mailed to her office to arrive, saying residents should complete their ballot and mail it as soon as they can, but said ballots are high-priority mail for the United States Postal Service.

Residents wanting to cast their vote early can do so starting October 13.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/26/2024 21:00