§ 22-16-123 — Special mail ballot elections; procedures

Wyoming § 22-16-123

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 22: Elections
• Ch. 16: CANVASS AND RECOUNT

Text

(a) A special mail ballot election, as provided in this
section, may be held in response to a determination under W.S.
22-16-122(a).
(b) In a special mail ballot election, official ballots
shall be prepared and all other pre-election procedures followed
as otherwise provided by law or rules promulgated by the
secretary of state, except that special mail ballot packets
shall be prepared as follows:
(i) The election official shall mail to each
qualified elector entitled to vote in the special mail ballot
election as described in W.S. 22-16-122(b) and (c), at the last
address appearing in the registration records or to the address
given on the absentee ballot application used for the primary,
general or other special election ballot, a special mail ballot
packet, which shall be marked "DO NOT FORWARD-ADDRESS CORRECTION
REQUESTED," or any other similar statement which is in
accordance with United States postal service regulations.
Packets shall be mailed not sooner than twenty-one (21) days and
not later than fifteen (15) days before an election for
elections held in accordance with W.S. 22-16-122. Packets shall
be mailed not sooner than forty-five (45) days and not later
than forty (40) days before an election for elections held in
accordance with W.S. 22-16-122(h) unless the court order
provides otherwise;
(ii) The ballot shall contain the following warning:
WARNING
The criminal laws regulating the conduct of elections contained
in chapter 26 of the Wyoming Election Code of 1973, as amended,
apply with equal force to elections by mail.
(iii) Not sooner than twenty-one (21) days and before
7:00 p.m. on election day for elections held in accordance with
W.S. 22-16-122, mail ballots shall be made available at the
election official's office for voters entitled to vote in the
election but whose address has changed or who did not receive
their ballot in the mail;
(iv) A voter may obtain a replacement ballot if the
ballot was destroyed, spoiled, lost or for some other reason not
received by the voter. In order to obtain a replacement ballot,
the voter shall sign a sworn statement specifying the reason for
requesting the replacement ballot. The statement shall be
presented to the election official no later than 7:00 p.m. on
election day. The election official shall keep a record of each
replacement ballot issued in accordance with this paragraph. A
replacement ballot may be transmitted directly to the applicant
at the election official's office or may be mailed to the voter
at the address provided in the application. Replacement ballots
may be cast no later than 7:00 p.m. on election day;
(v) Upon receipt of a ballot, the voter shall mark
the ballot, sign and complete the return-verification envelope
and comply with the instructions provided with the ballot. The
voter may return the marked ballot to the election official by
United States mail or by depositing the ballot at the office of
the election official or the designated depository no later than
7:00 p.m. on election day;
(vi) Once the ballot is returned, it shall not be
returned to the voter. The election official shall first
qualify the submitted ballot by examining the verification
envelope and comparing the information on the envelope to the
poll list to determine whether the ballot was submitted by a
voter who has not previously voted in the election. If the
ballot so qualifies and is otherwise valid, the official shall
place a number next to the voter's name in the poll book. The
election official shall then open and separate the ballot from
the envelope and place the ballot in a ballot box so as to keep
the voter's ballot private;
(vii) All deposited ballots shall be counted as
provided in this act and rules promulgated by the secretary of
state. A special mail ballot shall be valid and counted only if
is returned in the return-verification envelope, the affidavit
on the envelope is signed by the voter to whom the ballot was
issued and the information on the envelope is verified as
provided in paragraph (vi) of this subsection. If the election
official determines that a voter to whom a replacement ballot
has been issued has voted more than once, the official shall
only count the first ballot received from that voter;
(viii) The election official shall provide a minimum
of one (1) polling place on the day of election which may be the
election official's office and shall be open between the hours
of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
(c) If any special mail ballot packet mailed under
paragraph (b)(i) of this section to a physical address, not
including a post office box, is returned by the postal service,
the county clerk shall investigate the validity of the address.
If the county clerk determines that the address is not at a
location that a voter could inhabit, the county clerk shall
remove the address from the registration records until the
county clerk receives proof that the address is habitable by a
voter.