CHEYENNE - Because Wyoming law does not allow for hand counting of ballots, Democrat Gary Trauner didn't think there would be any change in the outcome of the U.S. House race by simply having a recount by machine.

In his Thursday statement announcing that he wouldn't ask for a recount in his close race against incumbent Republican Barbara Cubin, Trauner said he believes the state needs to look at changing its election laws to allow counting ballots by hand if necessary.

"What is the purpose of having recounts in tight races and using machines that keep a paper ballot, if the law does not allow for manual checks and balances in counting those paper ballots?" he said.

Peggy Nighswonger, state elections director, confirmed there was no provision for hand counting ballots in Wyoming. The only instance she could think of where a recount by hand might occur is if all the tabulation machines in a county broke down, she said.

According to official results from the Nov. 7 election, Cubin received 93,336 votes, or 48.3 percent, while Trauner got 92,324 votes, or 47.8 percent. Libertarian Thomas Rankin got 7,481, or 3.8 percent.

It was Cubin's closest race for the House in seven elections and Wyoming's closest U.S. House election since 1970, when Democrat Teno Roncalio beat Republican Harry Roberts by 608 votes.

When the State Canvassing Board met Wednesday to certify the race, it declined a request by Trauner to investigate calls his campaign received from some voters concerned about whether their votes were counted. The board also declined his request to look into voting results in Sheridan County, which Trauner said appeared to be at odds with voting trends in Wyoming's 22 other counties.

Trauner said Thursday he was disappointed that his concerns would not be looked into because it's important to make sure the vote is accurate.