The Acting Secretary of State talks about voting security and the upcoming election

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – With the general election just around the corner, we asked Interim Secretary of State Carl Allred about absentee ballot boxes, voter safety and voter fraud.

“As long as people participate, it will never be 100 percent. “It’s 99 percent,” we’re pretty good, and we have very few cases of voter fraud in Wyoming. The point is, you always have to be vigilant,” Carl Allred, Wyoming’s Interim Secretary of State.

In an effort to ensure voter safety this election season, Allred recently requested that absentee ballot boxes be pulled from 7 counties.

In the previous voting period, absentee ballots were required due to Covid-19. These boxes are under video surveillance at the county clerk’s office and are emptied daily.

But Allred said hand-delivering to a clerk or mailbox remains a long way off, leaving ballots in the hands of the federal government after hours.

“They only have two more steps to go into the secretary’s office and hand it over to them. When I read the law, the law says that absentee ballots must be mailed or delivered to the county clerk,” Allred said.

Heading into the general election, the secretary of state wants Wyomingites to know they are always vigilant about voting security.

Recently, a legislative committee drafted bills to limit and define the duties of the secretary of state.

“This is not a new thing. The Legislature has tried before, the Supreme Court has ruled on it, and they’ve failed at different times,” Allred said.

Allred says Wyoming’s voting system is secure and fraud-proof.

When asked if there were concerns about voter fraud or ballot box security, Allred said.

“No, there is no reason for this request. The request is, of course, that… those ballots are a better option than destroying or damaging them and giving them to the clerk. It’s not about integrity,” Allred said.

Currently, there is a pilot voter verification program in three counties, Natrona, Teton and Fremont, that tests ballots submitted to the Wyoming registry.

Early and absentee voting is still open and the general election will be held on November 8.

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