State Canvassing Board will study issue Wednesday
JARED MILLER Star-Tribune capital bureau | Posted: Thursday, November 6, 2008 12:00 am
CHEYENNE - The fate of a hotly contested legislative race in western Wyoming remains up in the air after Lincoln County officials discovered as many as 13 improper votes cast in the election.
The voting problems were discovered during a mandatory recount in the race for House District 22, which encompasses parts of Lincoln, Teton and Sublette counties.
Unofficial election results show Democrat Jim Roscoe of Wilson defeating Republican Charles Stough of Pinedale by just four votes. The slim margin triggered an automatic recount under state law.
State Elections Director Peggy Nighswonger said Thursday that officials in Lincoln County were looking into reports that some voters who participated in the HD 22 race cast ballots in more than one county, which is illegal.
The Lincoln County Canvassing Board met Thursday night and determined that 11 votes were indeed cast improperly, but no fraud is suspected, said Deputy Lincoln County Clerk April Brunski.
Rather, all 11 voters were eligible to participate in Tuesday's election in Lincoln County, but not in the precinct where they cast ballots, she said.
"They just went to the wrong polling location on Election Day and registered and voted," Brunski said, "and our poll workers did not catch it."
Two other questionable votes were identified, as well. Both were by Lincoln County residents who came back as potential felons during a routine scan through a criminal database, Brunski said.
Despite the irregularities, the Lincoln County Canvassing Board opted to certify the results Thursday night.
The results will be submitted with a letter explaining the issues to the State Canvassing Board, which meets Wednesday to certify the results of all state elections.
"That�s something the State Canvassing Board has to determine," Brunski said. "We�re just certifying our results only."
Brunski noted that 45 votes separated Roscoe and Stough in the Lincoln County portion of the HD 22 race. So even if all the improper votes went to Stough, it wouldn�t have made a difference. However, those votes may have swayed the total of all precincts in HD 22.
Of course, it�s impossible to determine who the voters supported, because the election was a secret ballot.
Brunski said the county canvassing board and Lincoln County election officials did not determine the political parties of any of the 13 voters.
"We didn�t review any of that," Brunski said. "We were just looking at addresses."
The final outcome of the race could mean a net gain of one Democrat in the Legislature if Roscoe is declared the winner, but it would have little impact on the balance of power in Cheyenne.
Even with Roscoe in office, Democrats would still be two seats short of the 21 they need to protect a veto by Gov. Dave Freudenthal, a Democrat.
Current HD 22 representative Monte Olsen, of Daniel, is a Republican.
Contact capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or {M7jared.miller@trib.com