Equality State Policy Center
Marissa Carpio
July 29th, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Equality State Policy Center Highlights Risks of Hand-Counting Ballots in Wyoming Elections
Laramie, WY- The Equality State Policy Center (ESPC) released a new brief underscoring the potential risks and consequences associated with proposals to replace machinery with manual hand-counting of ballots in Wyoming elections.
“Hand-counting ballots may seem like a straightforward solution, but the reality is far from simple,” says Marissa Carpio, ESPC Policy Director. “Our research shows that manual counting introduces significant risk of mistakes and inefficiency that could undermine the integrity of Wyoming’s elections. The recent experiences in other states highlight alarming error rates and increases in processing time and costs associated with hand-counting.”
Currently, Wyoming employs safe and secure voting systems that are complemented by rigorous auditing procedures, public testing, and the diligent oversight of our experienced county clerks. These measures ensure accuracy and transparency, mitigating the risk of human error and maintaining public confidence in the results.
A shift to hand or manual counting would undermine our processes and principles that maintain safe and secure elections in Wyoming.
The brief draws on examples from within the state and nation demonstrating that hand-counting is inaccurate, slow, and expensive. Hand-counting ballots takes significantly longer; for instance, a recount of 4,000 ballots in Park County took two hours with a tabulator but would take over 26 hours with hand counting.
Implementing hand-counting in Wyoming, similar to what was done in Shasta County, California, would cost approximately $7 million per election year.A Texas study found hand-counting to only be 58% accurate, and a recent Nevada hand-count revealed a 25% error rate. In contrast, Wyoming’s machine-tabulated ballots had a 100% accuracy rate in 2022.
The Equality State Policy Center urges policymakers and stakeholders to consider the comprehensive findings of this brief before advocating for changes to Wyoming’s election processes. ESPC remains committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity and transparency in the Equality State.
You can read the brief at equalitystate.org/resesarch
###
For media inquiries or to schedule an interview, please contact Marissa Carpio at mcarpio@equalitystate.org.