Investigation into clerk’s conduct continues

Weston County citizens appeal to governor for Hadlock's removal

When members of the public came forward at the Nov. 7 regular Board of Weston County Commissioners meeting to express frustration over incorrect vote counts and other election errors made by Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock, Commissioner Ed Wagoner admonished those who questioned Hadlock’s performance and said that “it would really be nice if apologies came out to Becky as fast as the accusations did.” 

An apology may be premature, however, as accusations regarding Hadlock’s actions before and after the election continued to mount through the county and state canvassing process. Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray has confirmed since those meetings that his office is still looking into “representations” made to his office by Hadlock concerning the election, and the Weston County Republican Party’s Central Committee voted unanimously to send a formal letter to Governor Mark Gordon requesting her removal from office as a result of her conduct.

As previously reported by the News Letter Journal, Hadlock used three different ballots, according to Gray, for the House District 1 race, and the result was that most of the votes for Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, were not counted. 

According to Hadlock’s initial reports, Neiman received 166 votes in his uncontested race, with 1,289 undervotes counted. After a recount, it was reported that Neiman received 1,268 votes, with 166 undervotes. 

The recount also included the Weston County commissioners race. While the change was not as significant as it was in the HD1 race, Commissioner Ed Wagoner’s total increased by 62 votes, from 2,361 to 2,424 and Marty Ertman’s tally dropped by 62 votes from 2,225 to 2,163. 

While the tallies in both races were corrected before they were certified, Gray is still concerned about the situation. He told the state canvassing board on Nov. 13 during their meeting — which was live-streamed on YouTube, that there are two reasons he is continuing to look into what occurred in Weston County during the 2024 General Election season —  the post-election audit submitted by Hadlock and the machine testing she conducted before the election. 

“I have serious concerns regarding the representations Clerk Hadlock made to our office, including her initial representations when she reported her unofficial results to her office on November 5th, as well as her initial post-election audit, in which she reported no findings or errors or observations to our office despite the anomalies that had been identified with the House District 1 race,” Gray told the News Letter Journal in an email. “This initial audit was not reported accurately, as confirmed by the Weston County Canvassing Board, as well as a subsequent post-election audit submitted to our office.”

He told the canvassing board that the second representation concerned the timing of machine testing. Gray said that clerks are required to test election equipment and submit reports to his office that the tests have been completed, and he expressed concern over the timing of the testing held by Hadlock. He said it was held very late, and he was in communication with Hadlock until 10 p.m. on deadline day in an effort to ensure the work was done.

“In the coming weeks, our office will continue to evaluate these representations of the Weston County Clerk, and will be discussing the results of our investigation with the Attorney General's Office,” Gray told the News Letter Journal. 

He noted to the canvassing board that a report of findings will be issued. 

The Secretary of State’s concerns were echoed during the public comment portion of the state canvassing board meeting, when a number of citizens indicated concerns about the election results in Weston County and several requested that the results not be certified because of the issues that had been revealed. 

Gray noted that the state canvassing board only certifies state and federal elections and that the local elections were certified by the local canvassing board on Nov. 8. Therefore, not certifying at the state level would have no impact on the county election.

But comments from Weston County residents, including Susan Love, Pam Gualtieri, Stan Jazinski, and Gillian Sears, noted concerns that their votes were not counted and the lack of assurance that other races were accurate. They also expressed concerns about Hadlock’s reaction to those who questioned the way the election was conducted at public meetings and the county canvassing board’s “hostility” toward the public. They also feared how much control the clerk has regarding elections from start to finish, and how little oversight other government officials or members of the public have over the manner in which an election is managed. 

“I would just like to say today, since becoming a citizen in 2019, I have voted in three elections in Weston County and in all of those elections serious errors were made by our county clerk,” Sears said before listing errors made by Hadlock in the 2020, 2022 and 2024 election. 

“I have no faith that, in the three elections I have voted in, my vote counted at all as I intended,” Sears added. 

Several of those who have questioned Hadlock’s management of the election have also expressed a belief at several meetings — including the state canvassing board meeting, the Weston County Republican Party Central Committee meeting and the county canvassing board meeting — that Hadlock would not have taken the necessary actions to correct the election results if the Secretary of State’s office had not become involved. Hadlock originally told Gray that she did not see any issues in the first set of results released by her office on election night

Members of the public voiced these grievances against Hadlock at an “election integrity” meeting held by the Weston County Republican Party Central Committee on Nov. 12. The Central Committee — without any objections from any members or residents who were present, voted unanimously to draft a letter to Gordon requesting Hadlock’s removal, citing Wyoming Statute 18-3-902. 

Under that law, either qualified electors or the Board of Weston County Commissioners can request the governor consider the removal of an elected official. 

“Whenever it appears to the governor on the verified complaint of qualified electors or the board of county commissioners of the county that the county officer is guilty of misconduct or malfeasance in office he may direct the attorney general to commence and prosecute an action in district court of the county in which the officer is an official asking for the removal of the officer,” the statute states. 

Members of the public joined several members of the Republican Party Central Committee after the central committee meeting to draft the letter to the governor — which was signed by Kenneth Hoffman, James Burrough, Dan Fouch, Tricia Baumann, Dean Rightnowar, Joely Rightnowar, Kari Drost and Stan Jazinski. (Ed. note: The signatories were confirmed by News Letter Journal photojournalist Walter Sprague, who was in attendance at the meeting.)

Weston County Republican Party Chairwoman Kari Drost informed Gordon during the canvassing board meeting that the letter was forthcoming. 

“Thanks for forwarding the letter. I will take it into consideration,” the governor said. 

Full videos of both the local canvassing board and the Republican Party Central Committee meeting can be viewed on the News Letter Journal’s YouTube page. For a video of the Wyoming canvassing board meeting, please visit the Wyoming Secretary of State’s YouTube page.