Catch Title: Elections-hand counting for recounts

Sponsor: Joint Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Interim Committee

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

Bill: https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2026/HB0052

Overview This bill significantly alters Wyoming’s election recount procedures by increasing the automatic recount thresholds for various offices and mandating that such recounts be conducted exclusively by hand . It creates an “election recount account” to reimburse counties for the costs of these labor-intensive audits and grants the Secretary of State the authority to mandate a recount for specific races or questions . Additionally, the bill updates the qualifications and appointment procedures for recount-specific counting boards .

Key Provisions

• Revised Recount Margins: Increases the automatic recount threshold for federal, statewide, and legislative offices to a 2% difference between the winning and losing candidate at the county level .
• Mandatory Hand Counts: Explicitly requires that automatic recounts for major offices (federal, statewide, legislative) be conducted by a hand count rather than electronic tabulation .
• Election Recount Account: Establishes a continuously appropriated state account to reimburse county clerks for reasonable expenses related to hand recounts, including wages and facility rentals .
• Secretary of State Authority: Empowers the Secretary of State to require a recount for one federal, statewide, or legislative race or question per election, with the authority to specify the counting method .
• Candidate Recount Requests: Losing candidates may request a recount via affidavit and must specify whether they want a hand count or an electronic recount .
• Increased Deposits: Candidates requesting a recount must pay a deposit not to exceed $1,000 for electronic counts or $5,000 for hand counts, which is refundable only if the election result changes .
• Specialized Counting Boards: Mandates the appointment of a recount counting board consisting of at least three members, with provisions allowing 16 and 17-year-old registered electors to serve .

Implications

• Accuracy and Timeliness Risks: Mandatory hand counting for major offices raises significant concerns regarding the accuracy of human tabulation compared to electronic systems and may delay the final certification of election results.
• Administrative Burden on Clerks: The shift to hand counts and the five-day notice windows are expected to significantly disrupt and compress the intensive pre-election and post-election administrative workflow .
• Fiscal Sufficiency Uncertainty: While $200,000 is appropriated to the new recount account, a formal analysis is required to determine if this is sufficient to cover the cumulative costs of labor-intensive hand recounts across all counties .
• Rural Staffing Challenges: Small or rural counties may face difficulties in recruiting the required three-member counting boards, and the provision for 16-year-old members may not fully mitigate these local personnel shortages .
• Partisan Influence Risks: Centralizing authority within the Secretary of State’s office to mandate specific recounts increases the likelihood of such decisions being perceived as partisan or ideological rather than strictly procedural .
• Financial Barrier for Candidates: The $5,000 deposit cap for hand recounts represents a significant financial hurdle for candidates compared to the $1,000 cap for electronic tabulation .