Know Your Rights: Voting in Wyoming

Basic requirements:

• You must be 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of Wyoming as well as a resident of the precinct in which you register.

Voting if you’re attending college:

• You can register to vote at your school address or your home address, whichever you consider your primary legal residence.

Voting if unexpectedly hospitalized

• When patients are unexpectedly hospitalized, they likely did not make arrangements to vote by regular absentee ballot. Emergency Absentee Ballots are used when a registered voter realizes that they will be unable to make it to the polls, but it is too late to apply for regular absentee ballots. 

Voting with a criminal record: 

• First time non-violent felons who have completed their supervision or were discharged from an institution on or after Jan. 1, 2010 automatically have their voting rights restored. Individuals who completed their sentence prior to Jan. 1, 2010, are required to apply for restoration of the right to vote.
• If you qualify for automatic voting rights restoration, you will receive a signed certificate from the Wyoming Department of Corrections which indicates your voting rights have been restored. For additional information on the restoration of voting rights, contact the Department of Corrections at 307-777-6341. 

Voting if you’re experiencing homelessness:

• You don’t need a home to vote, but you must identify a place of residence (which can be a street corner, a park, a shelter, or any other place where you usually stay). You must also provide a mailing address, such as a shelter or advocacy organization, at which you can receive mail. 

Voting rights and ADA requirements:

• Call your county clerk right away and ask for accommodation or reassignment to an accessible polling place.
• If you feel you cannot vote on the day of the election, fill out an absentee ballot application and mail it to your county clerk as soon as possible.
• If you need help because of a physical disability or because you have difficulty reading or writing in English, tell a poll worker when you get to the polling place.
• If you need instructions on how to use the voting equipment, ask a poll worker for help. Poll workers are required to help you at any time you ask – even after you have entered the voting booth. 

Moving and address changes: 

• If you moved or changed addresses within the same county, you should update your voter information with your county clerk’s office prior to the election.
• If you have not done so you will be required to update your information at your polling place before voting.
• If you moved or changed addresses in a different county, you will need to re-register at your polling place before voting.

Wyoming voters can register in person at the county clerk’s office or by mail after printing off a registration form which can be located on sos.wyo.gov. 

• If voting by mail, fill out the form, sign it, and then get it notarized prior to submitting it to your county auditor. This requirement is waived if you are in the military or live overseas. 

Voter registration closes two weeks prior to an election. However, you may still register and vote absentee at the same time within that two-week period or at the polls on Election Day. Registration during this time can be accomplished in two ways.

• Register and vote simultaneously at either your county clerk’s office or an absentee polling place.
• Register via mail and include a request for an absentee ballot. Both the voter registration form and the absentee ballot form are available at sos.wyo.gov. 

If you end up registering to vote on Election Day, you must bring acceptable identification such as:

• Wyoming Driver's License or ID Card 
• Tribal ID Card 
• Valid U.S. Passport 
• U.S. Military Card 
• DL or ID Card from Another State 
• University of Wyoming Student ID 
• Wyoming Community College Student ID 
• Wyoming Public School Student ID 
• Valid Medicare Insurance Card* 
• Valid Medicaid Insurance Card* 

Confirming voter registration: You can confirm your voter registration by calling your county clerk’s office or check soswy.state.wy.us.

*Medicare and Medicaid insurance cards will no longer be an acceptable form of identification for voting purposes after December 31st, 2029. 

Election Day 2022

• The General Election is typically on the Tuesday after the first Monday in the month of Nov., with polls operating between at 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. The General Election Day for 2022 is on Nov. 8, 2022. 

Running late:

• You have the right to vote if you’re in line or inside your polling place when the polls close.

Getting time off work:

• If your work schedule would make it practically impossible for you to vote in-person while the polls are open, your employer is required to give you time off to vote, without penalty or deduction in your wages. You should ask your employer for time off before Election Day. Your employer has the right to specify which hours you get to take.

Find your polling place:

• On Election Day, you must vote at your assigned polling place.

If you feel you cannot vote on the day of the election, fill out an absentee ballot application and mail it to your county clerk as soon as possible.

Any registered voter in Wyoming may request an absentee ballot for any or all elections ONLY within the calendar year in which the election is held but not on the day of the election. When requesting an absentee ballot, you must provide the following voter and absentee ballot request information:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Your current Wyoming residence address
• The mailing address where your ballot should be mailed
• The election(s) for which the absentee ballot is requested
• If for a primary election, the political party ballot you wish to vote. 
• A statement that you are eligible to vote in the election(s).

Absentee ballots may obtained by:

• Phone – Call your county clerk
• Mail – Print and fill out the application form and mail to your county clerk
• Email – Put “Absentee Ballot Request” in the subject line
• In Person – Request an absentee ballot in person at your county clerk’s office
• Online Request Forms – Online request forms can be found at sos.wyo.gov/Elections
• Any registered voter can obtain their absentee ballot as early as 45 days prior to the election or any day after contacting their county clerk’s office but not on Election Day.

In order for your vote to be counted, absentee ballots must be received in the county clerk’s office no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots arriving after the deadline won’t be counted.

Ballots may be returned to the county clerk in the following ways:

• Bring your completed absentee ballot in the signed envelope to your county clerk’s office.
• Mail your completed absentee ballot in the provided envelope to your county clerk’s office. Please note that mail delivery within the county may take up to seven days, and longer if you’re mailing your ballot from outside the county.

If you are voting in person in Wyoming you are required to show a form of identification that the state of Wyoming considers an acceptable form of identification.  The state of Wyoming accepts any of the following documents: 

• Wyomig Driver's License or ID Card 
• Tribal ID Card 
• Valid U.S. Passport 
• U.S. Military Card 
• DL or ID Card from Another State 
• University of Wyoming Student ID 
• Wyoming Community College Student ID 
• Wyoming Public School Student ID 
• Valid Medicare Insurance Card* 
• Valid Medicaid Insurance Card* 

If you do not have one of the documents in the list above, you may obtain a free Wyoming Identification Card from your local Driver Services office. Voters who mail in their absentee ballot are not required to provide any additional form of identification. 

*Medicare and Medicaid insurance cards will no longer be an acceptable form of identification for voting purposes after December 31st, 2029. 

If you believe you are registered to vote and are in the correct polling place on Election Day, you may request a provisional ballot. This will be used to record a vote when there are questions about a given voter’s eligibility.

After casting a provisional ballot, you have until close of business the day following the election to present documentation to the county clerk establishing your ability to register and vote in the district where you cast your provisional ballot.

Afterward, you will be sent a notice within 13 days if your ballot was counted or not counted. If it wasn’t counted, you will be told the reason.

What if I make a mistake on the ballot? 

• It happens. You can request a new ballot from the precinct worker.

If I need to, how do I file a complaint? 

• First, ask for the chairperson of the election board at your polling place. There may be poll watchers near your polling place who might be able to assist you. You can also call your county clerk or file a complaint with the Wyoming Secretary of State.

What if someone tries to intimidate or harass me? 

• Tell a poll worker. If a poll worker is the problem, tell a poll watcher, call your county clerk, or call the Secretary of State. Poll watchers are typically found outside a polling place.

Become a precinct worker: Precinct workers are key players in running polling places on Election Day. This paid position is recruited by your county clerk. Get in touch with your county clerk to learn more.