Governor recommends removal of Hadlock — Local jury could decide county clerk’s fate 

Gov. Mark Gordon has directed Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz to begin removal proceedings against Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock, concluding that her conduct has risen to the level of misconduct or malfeasance under state law.

In a letter dated Jan. 7, Gordon instructed Kautz to “commence prosecution of the removal of Clerk Hadlock from office” pursuant to Wyoming Statute 18-3-902, citing Hadlock’s refusal to comply with a legislative subpoena and her filing of a false post-election audit following the 2024 General Election.

Gordon said his decision follows receipt of verified complaints submitted Oct. 20, 2025, by four qualified Weston County electors. The complaints alleged violations of Wyoming law tied to Hadlock’s election administration duties.

According to the letter, Gordon determined that Hadlock’s failure to appear before the Legislature’s Management Audit Committee constituted misconduct or malfeasance, regardless of whether criminal charges related to the subpoena violation are resolved separately in court.

Gordon acknowledged that Hadlock may have believed she made arrangements to accommodate the subpoena but said her failure to confirm those arrangements demonstrated a troubling pattern.

“It seems to me that any responsible public servant would make an effort to obtain some documentation or affirmation that their arrangements had been properly accepted before proceeding to miss such an obviously important summons from the legislature,” Gordon wrote. He added that the incident reflects “a pattern of carelessness and inattention to detail” consistent with earlier findings related to the 2024 election.

“At some point persistent incompetence rises to a level of misconduct whether willful or not,” Gordon wrote, stating that Hadlock’s “pattern of lackadaisical conduct” was sufficient to presume misconduct.

Gordon also found that Hadlock’s submission of a post-election audit reporting no discrepancies — despite later findings that at least 21 ballots were improperly recorded — could reasonably be construed as misconduct or malfeasance.

Based on the information reviewed, Gordon wrote there was no explanation as to how the audit could have shown no errors when multiple incorrect ballot entries were later identified.

While Gordon reiterated that the ballot issue was ultimately discovered, corrected and certified by the Weston County Canvassing Board, and that the races in question were uncontested, he said the audit failure added to prior findings of incompetence.

“Taken together they contribute to the appearance of misconduct or malfeasance,” Gordon wrote. “These careless actions demonstrate at best an inattentiveness to detail and at worst a disregard for her responsibilities as County Clerk.”

Gordon emphasized that while he does not believe Hadlock acted with malicious intent to alter election outcomes, her continued failures in election administration and statutory compliance now meet the threshold for removal consideration.

“Election results are the foundation of our democratic republic and they must be respected both in the secure and fair way that they should be conducted and in the respect that must be given to the will of the people whose votes were cast,” Gordon wrote.

He reiterated that removal of an elected official must follow due process and should not be driven by political motives, adding that his responsibility is to determine whether the specifics of a complaint justify legal action — not to conduct a “witch hunt at the behest of a disgruntled group of citizens.”

The matter now moves to the attorney general’s office. If a petition for removal is filed under W.S. 18-3-902, a jury of Weston County residents would ultimately decide whether Hadlock should be removed from office.

Following the announcement, Secretary of State Chuck Gray said that he was relieved by Gordon’s decision following over a year of investigation, hours of testimony and multiple referrals about Hadlock’s conduct. 

"Our referrals of Becky Hadlock were not made lightly, and I continue to be troubled by Clerk Hadlock’s pattern of conduct. I have continued to pursue these issues because of how serious they are, and how important it was for there to be oversight and accountability,” Gray said in the statement. 

When the News Letter Journal attempted to contact Hadlock for comment, Deputy Clerk Kolby Pisciotti said she was “under the weather” and therefore unavailable. 

Background

The governor’s decision marks a reversal from his position in 2025, when he declined to pursue removal proceedings after reviewing verified complaints tied to errors in the 2024 general election.

As previously reported by the News Letter Journal, Gordon said in a May 23, 2025, press release that while Hadlock made “serious mistakes” in administering the 2024 election, the evidence presented at that time did not meet the legal threshold for removal.

“The Governor determined that while Clerk Hadlock made serious mistakes in the 2024 Weston County elections, her actions do not constitute ‘willful negligence’ or ‘malicious intent,’” the release stated. Gordon said he would not direct the attorney general to initiate her removal.

Gray sharply criticized that decision, arguing the governor failed to address what Gray described as the most serious allegation: that Hadlock submitted a false post-election audit report to the Secretary of State’s Office after the 2024 election.

Gray said his office’s investigation, released in March 2025, concluded there was “misconduct or malfeasance” in Hadlock’s conduct during the 2024 election cycle and recommended the governor initiate proceedings under Wyoming Statute 18-3-902.

The controversy stems from ballot and tabulation problems that surfaced after the November 2024 general election. According to Gray, Hadlock used three different ballots in the House District 1 race, causing most votes cast for Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, to be initially misclassified as undervotes.

Initial results showed that Neiman received 166 votes, with 1,289 undervotes, in his uncontested race. After a recount, the totals were corrected to 1,268 votes for Neiman and 166 undervotes.

The recount also affected the Weston County commissioners' race. Commissioner Ed Wagoner’s total increased by 62 votes, from 2,361 to 2,424, while Marty Ertman’s total decreased by 62 votes, from 2,225 to 2,163. Those results were corrected before the election was certified.

Gray told the state canvassing board on Nov. 13, 2024, that he planned further review of Weston County’s election administration, raising concerns about the post-election audit and pre-election machine testing. He later said a post-election audit filed by Hadlock on Nov. 6, 2024, reported no discrepancies, but a subsequent audit of the required 75 ballots found 21 with discrepancies.

Gordon, however, concluded in 2025 that the errors were the result of poor management rather than willful or malicious conduct. He wrote that the system ultimately worked because the irregularities were discovered and corrected before certification.

Additional complaints and legislative scrutiny followed. The legislature's Management Audit Committee held a Sept. 29, 2025, hearing regarding Hadlock’s conduct. Hadlock did not appear, despite being subpoenaed, prompting renewed calls from Gray for her removal.

In October 2025, Gordon confirmed that his office received new verified complaints from Weston County electors Karen Drost, Stanley Jasinski, Susan Love and Allen Slagle alleging Hadlock filed a false post-election audit and refused to comply with a legislative subpoena from the Wyoming Legislature’s Management Audit Committee.

In a Dec. 4, 2025, request to Gordon, Gray again urged the governor to initiate removal proceedings, citing the false audit allegation and Hadlock’s refusal to testify under subpoena. Gray also said Natrona County prosecutors charged Hadlock with failure to appear, a misdemeanor, stemming from her nonappearance at the Sept. 29 hearing. Hadlock pleaded not guilty on Nov. 14, 2025.

On Dec. 15, a motion to dismiss the charge was filed on Hadlock’s behalf, questioning the legality of the subpoena she was charged with violating. 

Under Wyoming Statute 18-3-902, the governor may direct the attorney general to file an action in district court seeking removal of a county officer for misconduct or malfeasance. If such a case proceeds, a Weston County jury would ultimately decide whether Hadlock should be removed from office.