Allred asks clerks to remove ballot drop boxes

CHEYENNE -Interim Secretary of State Karl Allred has moved quickly to request the removal of absentee ballot drop boxes statewide. 

Three days after he was sworn into office, he sent a letter on Friday to all 23 county clerks. In the correspondence, he asked them to consider the request, if not for this election, then for 2024 and all future elections. 

Allred said while his time in the office would be short, he wanted to capitalize on the opportunity to continue the "great work of this office and oversee another successful election." 

Absentee voting began on Sept. 23 for the Nov. 8 general election. 

"There is concern over the use of absentee ballot drop boxes. I know this concern is not new to you, and I've been apprised that only seven counties are currently using them in this general election," Allred wrote. "I'm mindful of the fact that there have been no issues reported with the use of the drop boxes in Wyoming, but that does not alleviate the potential for abuse or destruction of ballots through use of fire or other means." 

Allred took office on Monday last week, after his appointment by Gov. Mark Gordon to replace former Secretary of State Ed Buchanan, who accepted a judgeship in Goshen County. 

Although both Allred and Buchanan are proponents of election integrity, their approach differs. 

Buchanan encouraged county clerks to invest in ballot boxes in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In his letter, Allred wrote that his predecessor's administration interpreted Wyoming statute to mean that "delivered to the clerk" encompassed the use of the drop box that was at or near a county clerk's office or the county courthouse. He said while he had a different understanding of what this means, he respected the prior direction of the Secretary of State's Office.

"I know that absentee voting is already underway and that drop boxes are already being used by voters in those seven counties," his letter continued. "I do not wish to interrupt or cause confusion to the voting process that is already in progress, but I will ask that you make an honest assessment as to whether or not discontinuing the use of your drop box would cause any disruption to your voters." 

He said after that assessment, if county clerks decide that discontinuing the use of the drop box would not disrupt the election process, he asks that they voluntarily discontinue use in this election and any future elections after proper notification to voters of the change. 

For those who didn't follow the request, he said the boxes should be under 24-hour surveillance and that the ballots be retrieved at the end of each day by a "bipartisan team or staff or election judges" whenever possible. 

The date, time and number of ballots recorded should also be appropriately reported in the chain-of-custody logs. 

Allred is not the only official in the state who has expressed these concerns. 

State Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, was the Republican primary winner in the secretary of state's race and will likely take over the position in January. He has voiced doubts regarding the 2020 presidential election results and campaigned on the premise of removing absentee drop boxes. 

"I'm the only Secretary of State candidate who has made it clear that I will ban ballot drop boxes," Gray wrote via Twitter in June. "We must have real election integrity, not talk!" 

Neither Allred nor a representative from the Secretary of State's Election Division responded to requests for comment Tuesday. 

Laramie County is among the seven counties to use the absentee ballot drop boxes, and County Clerk Debra Lee said her office will continue to offer the option. She voiced confidence in the single drop box, located on the east side of the county courthouse. 

She confirmed she received the letter Friday and told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle she had never received such a request from the Secretary of State's Office. However, she said she wasn't surprised by it. 

"It would cause confusion, and it would be a huge disservice to voters," she said, "especially if they aren't able to get their (absentee ballot) in the mail seven to 10 days prior to the deadline." 

Lee explained that her office does fulfill the stipulations Allred sought, to monitor the box around the clock by video and to timely remove the ballots. The office has had no issues with these boxes, and she said it is a way that voters can be assured their ballots will arrive on time. 

The Laramie County Clerk's Office mailed out close to 4,400 absentee ballots for the general election and has already received more than 900 back. 

Lee said 3,250 of the votes were by absentee ballot in the primary, excluding early voting, out of 27,478 ballots total cast. 

"Early and absentee voting started Sept. 23. It's well underway," she said. "Introducing changes at this point makes it very disruptive to the process."