WTE offers thumbs up and down

Kudos to local residents who made casting ballots a priority

UP to the 43,583 Laramie County residents 18 and older who made it a priority to cast ballots in this year’s general election.

Since 40,452 people were registered before this election cycle, and voters can register on Election Day in Wyoming, that resulted in a 107.74% voter turnout. That’s not all that unusual for a presidential election year, but it’s still worth celebrating. (It’s especially encouraging after the low turnout for the Aug. 20 primary.)

As we’ve said here before, in a state dominated by a single political party, it would be easy for people of the opposite persuasion to stay home. It also may be tempting for some in the majority party to sit on the sidelines and say others have it covered. But those who do exercise their right (and, we would argue, responsibility) understand there’s much more at stake than who occupies the White House.

From city to county to state leaders and congressional representation, as well as property and conservation tax ballot measures, there were plenty of reasons to stand in line for more than an hour, brace against the cold wind and make your voice heard. To those who did, we simply say, “Thank you!”

We also want to express our deep appreciation for Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee, her staff, and all of the dedicated election judges and other poll workers. Thanks to their hard work and commitment to the integrity of the process, thousands of people were able to vote by mail, cast ballots in person early at the Laramie County Governmental Complex and have their say Tuesday at one of the seven vote centers.

Our only suggestions for improvement are to find a larger venue for early voting next time, bring on more staff for check-in and set up more voting machines. Otherwise, our hats are off to everyone for making Election 2024 yet another example of how the United States gets it right.

School shooting threats create extra anxiety, stress local resources

DOWN to whoever is responsible for the repeated school shooting threats at local high schools recently. But UP to local first-responders for their rapid and thorough response each time.

Monday’s text message through a third-party line was the third time since Sept. 26 that officers have responded to threats against East High School. A similar threat was received about 30 minutes later at South High, causing that school to be locked down, too.

Wyoming is part of an unfortunate trend that appears to be “spilling over” from other states, according to Ryan Cox from the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation. And Cheyenne isn’t alone. Statewide, more than a dozen schools received threats of either an active shooter or a bomb on campus as of Monday afternoon.

In the local cases, personnel from the Cheyenne Police Department, Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, Cheyenne Fire Rescue and American Medical Response rush to the scene, praying along the way that this isn’t the time when the call is real. But as those resources are tied up with an unnecessary search of a large school building (or two at the same time), they’re being pulled away from other areas where they might be needed.

In addition, these constant threats either ramp up anxiety among students who worry about the possibility of a local school shooting, or cause them to become complacent and less willing to comply with safety protocols. Either way, these “boy who cried wolf” situations need to end.

We hope DCI and the FBI will be able to find the culprits and impose the appropriate consequences. (Peers can also have an influence by putting pressure on those who are inclined to cause such disruptions.) While we don’t want to ruin a young person’s life over a stupid decision, for the good of our society as a whole, this needs to stop.

LCCC and UW working together to make student transitions seamless

UP to Laramie County Community College and the University of Wyoming for launching a collaborative effort to help LCCC students in certain majors complete their bachelor’s degrees efficiently at UW.

The new Express Transfer Agreement (ETA) program lets LCCC students be admitted to both higher-ed institutions at one time, as well as benefit from the services of advisers from both schools. This makes it even easier to transfer credits from LCCC to UW, plus it lets these LCCC students attend UW athletic events, concerts and other activities.

The ETA program is currently available to full-time LCCC students who hope to earn bachelor’s degrees in elementary education, secondary education, criminal justice, and business and accounting, according to a news release. (More information is available online at uwyo.edu/ETA.)

Here’s hoping the success of this program leads to its expansion to other academic degrees and other community colleges throughout Wyoming.

State lawmakers working to increase voting transparency

UP to members of the Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on Legislative Facilities, Technology and Process and the Management Council for recommending and supporting a new way to track lawmakers’ votes.

Late last month, staff from the Legislative Service Office (LSO) showed members of the select committee a mockup of an electronic voting display that includes a color-coded list of lawmakers updated online in real time. “Yes” votes are green, “no” are red, excused absences are yellow and unexcused absences are white.

Some lawmakers argued this isn’t necessary, since LSO staff already do a good job of recording and posting votes quickly online. And while the system has the potential to cause legislators to change their votes based on how their colleagues vote, we’d argue that already exists for those who listen closely to the votes being called out.

We’re always going to support more government transparency, which is why we’re glad legislative leaders on the Management Council backed this idea. We look forward to seeing it in action.