2010 Wyoming Statutes
Title 22 - Elections
Chapter 10 - Voting Machines

CHAPTER 10 - VOTING MACHINES

 

22-10-101. Criteria for approval.

 

(a) To be approved for use in Wyoming a voting machine shall:

 

(i) Require secret voting, except for electors receiving assistance as provided by law;

 

(ii) Permit an elector to cast any vote he is entitled to cast at any election and permit voting for a write-in candidate for any office;

 

(iii) Preclude an elector from casting any vote he is not entitled to cast at any election or to cast more votes for a candidate, office or ballot proposition than are allowed by law;

 

(iv) Permit an elector to change any vote before his vote is registered;

 

(v) Permit an elector by one (1) device to vote simultaneously for candidates of one (1) political party for president, vice-president and presidential electors;

 

(vi) Permit adjustment at a primary election to assure that an elector will vote only the political party or nonpartisan ballot he is entitled to vote;

 

(vii) Have separate voting devices for candidates and ballot propositions, which shall be arranged in separate rows or columns, so that one (1) or more adjacent rows or columns may be assigned to the candidates of each political party at a primary election;

 

(viii) Have a public counter visible outside the machine which shall show at all times during an election the number of electors who have voted on the machine, and a protective counter which cannot be reset and which will record the total number of movements of the registering mechanism;

 

(ix) Have locks and seals to permit the machine to be locked to prevent any movement of the registering mechanism;

 

(x) Have the capacity to contain the names of candidates constituting the tickets of not less than five (5) political parties and independent groups and not less than fifteen (15) ballot propositions;

 

(xi) Be constructed so that an elector may readily learn how to operate, it may expeditiously cast his vote, and when operated properly shall register and accurately record every vote cast;

 

(xii) Be durably constructed of good quality material in a neat and workmanlike manner and shall be safely transportable.

 

22-10-102. Selection by county commissioners.

 

The board of county commissioners may adopt for use in any precinct in the county a type of voting machine meeting the standards specified in W.S. 22-10-101.

 

22-10-103. Lease or purchase of machines.

 

The board of county commissioners may lease such approved voting machines for use in any precinct in the county or purchase them for cash or in annual installments not to exceed ten (10) years.

 

22-10-104. Submission of purchasing bonds question to electors.

 

The board of county commissioners may submit to the electors of the county the question whether the board of county commissioners shall be authorized to issue registered coupon bonds of the county in an amount which, together with the existing indebtedness of the county shall not exceed two percent (2%) of the taxable property in the county as shown by the last general assessment, and bearing a rate of interest not exceeding ten percent (10%) per annum, and payable in not to exceed twenty (20) years, for the purchase of voting machines to be used in countywide elections and for the construction of necessary storage facilities and the building site therefor.

 

22-10-105. Rental fees; generally.

 

When the expense of an election held in a county is chargeable in whole or in part to the state, a political subdivision thereof or other governmental entity other than the county, the state, subdivision or other governmental entity shall pay to the county a fee per day fixed by the board of county commissioners for use of voting machines. When the expense is divided by law among two (2) or more entities participating in the election, the rental fee expense shall be shared proportionately.

 

22-10-106. Rental fees; where paid.

 

All moneys paid to the county for the rental of voting machines shall be paid into the county fund used to acquire and maintain voting machines.

 

22-10-107. Custody and maintenance.

 

The county clerk shall have custody of voting machines and keep them in repair. The county clerk shall have custody and care of keys and seals for the voting machines.

 

22-10-108. Procedure for preparing machines for election; inspection and certification.

 

(a) Before preparing a voting machine for an election, the county clerk shall notify in writing the county chairman of each political party having a candidate on the ballot, stating the time and place where the voting machine will be prepared for the election. The political party representatives and representatives of independent candidates may be present at the preparation of the voting machine for the election, to see that the machine is tested for accuracy and is properly prepared and that all registering counters are set at zero (00000). The county clerk in the presence of these representatives shall prepare the voting machine for the election and set all registering counters at zero (00000). He shall then test each registering counter for accuracy by casting votes on it until the registering counter is correctly registering each vote cast on it. The county clerk shall then reset each registering counter to zero (00000) and shall immediately lock and seal the voting machine with a numbered metal seal and make a record of the number of the seal on the certificate for the machine. The seal shall be so placed as to prevent operation of the machine or its registering counters without breaking the seal. The county clerk shall then immediately make a record on the certificate for the machine of the reading shown on the protective counter.

 

(b) Inspection of voting machines may begin two (2) weeks before an election and continue until all machines to be used are sealed. Immediately following testing of a machine, the county clerk shall make a certificate in writing stating the serial number of each machine, whether the machine has all the registering counters set at zero (00000), and whether the machine has been tested by voting on each registering counter to prove that each registering counter is in perfect and accurate condition, the number registered on the protective counter, and the number on the seal with which the machine is sealed against operation. This certificate shall be kept on file in the office of the county clerk.

 

22-10-109. Key in sealed envelope; matters to be printed thereon.

 

 

(a) When all voting machines to be used in an election are locked and sealed, the key to each machine shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope on which shall be printed:

 

(i) The number or designation of the election district and precinct in which the machine is to be used;

 

(ii) The number of the seal with which the machine is sealed;

 

(iii) The number registered on the protective counter as reported by the county clerk;

 

(iv) The signature of the clerk and the signatures of two (2) representatives, if any, placed across the seal.

 

22-10-110. Presumption of proper preparation; objections.

 

A voting machine prepared for an election and certified by the county clerk shall be conclusively presumed to be properly prepared unless within two (2) days after the machine is sealed and certified a complaint is filed in the district court of the county stating the number of the machine and the grounds for objecting to its use.

 

22-10-111. Delivery and return; expenses.

 

The county clerk shall provide for the delivery of voting machines to the precincts at least one (1) hour before the polls open and their return to custody after the election. The expense of transporting the machines shall be paid by the authority or proportionately by the authorities conducting the election.