Hand counting — Committee presents hand-count proposal for county
Weston County commissioners were presented with a proposal to eliminate voting machines and move to a full hand-count system during a recent meeting, sparking an extended discussion about election integrity, costs and logistics.
Members of the Weston County Republican Party’s election integrity committee said the recommendation is the result of roughly six months of research and community outreach.
“We are here to address something that I believe is an issue and something that is great to voters as well,” Benjamin Roberts told the board, arguing that the change could restore trust in local elections.
The committee, formed in late 2025 and chaired by Susan Love, was tasked with studying the feasibility of hand-counting ballots and presenting its findings to commissioners.
According to the group, local survey results showed strong support for the idea, with a large majority of respondents indicating they would like to see a return to hand-counted elections.
The proposal calls for the county to abandon electronic tabulators and instead print ballots, have voters mark them by hand and count them manually using trained teams.
Supporters argued the process would be transparent and easier for the public to understand.
“Hand-counting is very simply print the ballots in the county, allow the voters to vote and know that the intent of their vote is recognized and counted and then count and verify the votes with the eyes and the hands of members of this county,” Roberts said.
Committee materials outline a system using teams of four people — a caller, observer and two tally recorders — to count ballots in batches, with multiple verification steps built into the process. Love noted that there were other hand-counting methods.
They estimate that about 44 counting judges would be needed to complete the process within several hours on election night.
Cost was another key argument raised during the presentation.
Committee members said election expenses have increased significantly since the county began using machines, citing maintenance fees and staffing costs tied to the equipment. According to Stanley Jasinski, another committee member, the state initiated a five-year contract with election equipment provider ES&S (Election Systems & Software). The first year the state paid for and negotiated the contract, after that the counties across the state were left to negotiate their own contracts.
“When the state was running machines …, the cost for election was $7,000,” Jasinski said, noting that more recent local costs have climbed to tens of thousands of dollars, due in part to annual maintenance fees and technical support.
Documents provided by the committee show total 2024 election costs — from July 2024 to November 2024 — of more than $52,000, $27,615 of which went to ES&S. Figures presented by the committee show costs for a hand-count system are estimated to be $26,455.
Supporters also argued that hand-counting would keep more election-related spending within the county.
The group further raised concerns about voting machine certification, software support and expiring warranties, suggesting continued use could expose the county to additional risk.
The proposal is backed by a formal resolution urging commissioners to adopt hand-counting for the 2026 elections and beyond, citing the Wyoming Constitution’s requirement to “secure the purity of elections.”
Commissioners, however, raised a number of questions during the discussion.
Concerns included ballot printing, maintaining chain of custody, training requirements and how to comply with state statutes governing elections.
Commissioner Nathan Todd specifically questioned how the county would manage ballots with rotating candidate names — a statutory requirement intended to ensure fairness across precincts — and how accuracy would be guaranteed.
Other commissioners raised concerns about potential human error in interpreting voter intent, as well as the logistical challenges of conducting a full hand-count.
Discussion also touched on state law, including a new requirement mandating a hand-count audit of about 5% of ballots cast in the 2026 elections to compare against machine tabulations.
Presenters cautioned against implementing hand-counting in only one precinct, arguing that a partial rollout could create legal and logistical complications.
Following the meeting, Love told the News Letter Journal in an April 22 email that the committee plans to address the concerns raised by commissioners.
She said the group will work to clarify issues related to ballot rotation and other technical questions raised during the discussion, particularly those brought forward by Todd.
Love also said the committee intends to revise its proposal.
“We will also ’clean up’ the resolution,” she said.
No decision has been made by commissioners, who indicated they will continue reviewing the proposal, associated costs and legal considerations before taking further action.
Precinct resolution revised
Weston County commissioners approved Resolution 26-10 establishing precincts and polling places but removed language specifying voting equipment after determining it was not required by state statute.
Discussion centered on Wyoming Statute 22-7-101, which requires commissioners to divide the county into election districts but does not explicitly mandate designating voting methods in the same resolution.
“I would like to just see the precincts and the polling places,” Commissioner Marty Ertman, suggesting the additional language be removed.
Board members agreed the resolution should focus only on required elements — precinct boundaries and polling locations — rather than including voting equipment details.
Commissioners ultimately voted to approve the resolution with references to voting machines and ADA equipment redacted.
The change allows the county to establish precincts ahead of the statutory deadline while leaving decisions about voting methods to be addressed separately.