Election records scrutinized in House Corporations Committee

Jan. 13—CHEYENNE — Election records came under scrutiny Wednesday afternoon in the House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee.

Committee members considered two joint committee-sponsored bills that would impact the public's access to election records. They passed a bill that would allow unique identifying numbers for elections and information relating to absentee ballot requests and returns to be public, and voted down a bill to make cast ballots, cast ballot images and cast vote records confidential.

The outcome of both bills was preferred by new Secretary of State Chuck Gray.

"These clarifications are really good in terms of ensuring transparency within the electoral process," Gray testified in support of House Bill 5. "The practice of the Wyoming Secretary of State's Office was for, again, seven cycles to release voter identification numbers, as well as information relating to absentee ballot requests and returns."

The office under former Secretary of State Ed Buchanan decided to not allow the public to request absentee ballot information or provide voter ID numbers at the start of this summer, because the number is unique to each voter. There were concerns that it wasn't designated in the registry list, or clarified as a public record not to be kept confidential. It was a decision by the executive office, but did not apply to county clerks.

However, the Joint Corporations Committee decided during the interim that the information related to absentee ballots is no different than seeing a resident get in line for the election. Former Chairman Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, said the public knows individuals come for a ballot and assumes they voted.

He did warn the unique identifying numbers could have dangerous potential uses, however. He said data collectors could use it to gauge ideology on the political spectrum, voting history, car worth or what magazine subscriptions residents order.

Gray had a different take related to data collection. He said in terms of election integrity, it ensures there aren't duplicate absentee ballot registrations or multiple identification numbers for the same voter.

"I want to make sure we emphasize that side of it," Gray said. "There's always a balance in policymaking, but I think in terms of election integrity, it's very important. I think this bill advances that transparency."

Even if the bill doesn't pass through the 67th Wyoming Legislature to the governor's desk, Gray has already made a change in the Secretary of State's Office. He said when his team entered the office 10 days ago, they began an internal review related to voter ID numbers. Gray decided to revert back to the policy that it wouldn't be excluded from public records, and said they are beginning the re-evaluation process for the absentee ballot policy.

When it came to House Bill 6, Gray continued to push for transparency. He said he wanted the bill to be voted down. It would have guaranteed that "cast ballots, cast ballot images, cast vote records of individual voters, and other data derived from cast ballots of individual voters" were confidential.

The policy question surrounding what election records should be public in the legislation was highly debated, as it involved the Wyoming Constitution. A portion of Article 6, Section 11, states, "All voters shall be guaranteed absolute privacy in the preparation of their ballots, and the secrecy of the ballot shall be made compulsory."

Historically, cast ballots have never been provided to the public, and, recently, Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill and the previous secretary of state's administration said the Constitution upholds that residents don't have the ability to request cast ballots or ballot images. Zwontizer said there is still disagreement among several members of the public who believe they are entitled to the information, and it divided the interim.

"I don't want anybody to look at my ballot," Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper, told committee members. "And I guess I don't understand what this controversy is really about."

While there were lawmakers such as Harshman who said it isn't subject to the Wyoming Public Records Act, others wanted the bill to pass through the committee or be put on hold until the next interim. They said it was a complicated issue, since two state offices are going against one another.

Committee members weren't the only ones tied up in the debate.

Mary Langford represented the Wyoming County Clerks Association. She asked legislators whether the election system's health would be improved or damaged if a single voter's ballot could be identified, and how this bill would impact election integrity. Concerns were also brought forward by Gail Symons from Civics 307 regarding small precincts, when there are fewer than 100 people, and ballots can reveal who voted Democrat and who voted Republican.

"My privacy should always trump unfounded concerns about election integrity, given that our clerk's responsibility is to cover that," she said.

There were still those who sided with Secretary of State Gray, who said the bill would not counter the important principle of ballot secrecy. He said sensitive information would be redacted from the ballots, and residents would not be touching the actual ballots.

"As written, House Bill 6 goes in the wrong direction. It would prohibit county clerks from releasing a cast ballot image or a cast ballot record of individual voters, and other data derived from cast ballots of individual voters," Gray said. "Voter confidence in elections is pivotal, and we reiterate that over and over again. We need to be on the cutting edge here, not just with the statement that our elections are flawless, but proving that they are flawless every step of the way."

The committee voted 6-3 against HB 6.

Jasmine Hall is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's state government reporter. She can be reached by email at jhall@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3167. Follow her on Twitter @jasminerhphotos and on Instagram @jhrose25.