Wyo. Code R. 002-0005-16
Effective Date: 10/22/2013 to Current
Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 002.0005.16.10222013
Rules for Voter Registration
The Secretary of State, pursuant to W.S. 22-2-121, is authorized to promulgate such rules as are necessary to maintain uniform voting, to maintain orderly voting and to comply with the requirements of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), Public Law 107-252 and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act of 2009 (MOVE). Section 303 of HAVA requires the use of a statewide voter registration system to serve as the single system for storing and managing the official list of registered voters throughout the State. The statewide voter registration system shall be designated the statewide voter registration system and shall be used by all counties for the conduct of all federal and statewide elections for full compliance with HAVA and MOVE.
These rules are promulgated to establish standards and procedures for voter registration.
These rules apply to all voters and local election officials with responsibilities as designated in W.S. 22-8-101, et seq.
(a) Party Affiliation. Voters must select one of the currently recognized political parties or select “unaffiliated” on the voter registration (VR) application. If a recognized party loses status, the affiliation of the voter will remain in the voter registration database, but will appear as unaffiliated on all reports unless the voter formally changes his affiliation to a currently recognized party.
(b) The statewide voter registration application form will be prescribed by the Secretary of State and can be found on-line. This form must be signed in front of a registry agent.
(a) County Clerks may not accept batches of voter registration applications. An individual must submit his voter registration application in person or by mail, and said application must comply with the requirements of W.S. 22-3-103.
(b) County Clerks may not conduct voter registration drives except in a public area that is owned or occupied by a political subdivision or governmental institution, agency, or entity.
(c) All copies of identification submitted in accordance with W.S. 22-3-117(a) and 22-3-118(c) shall be attached to the voter registration application and shall be kept confidential in accordance with other voter registration information. All copies shall be retained for no less than twenty-four (24) months, or until a voter votes in person and presents identification at the polls, after which said documents can be destroyed.
(a) All counties shall enter election day voter registration applications into the statewide voter registration system not later than thirty (30) calendar days following any election held under W.S. 22-2-101. The Secretary of State may allow a five (5) calendar day extension if requested in writing by the County Clerk stating the reason for the necessity of an extension.
(b) In order to preserve historical data on voters, when a voter exists in the statewide voter registration system, whether active or inactive, County Clerks shall not create a new/duplicate record when registering the voter. Instead, County Clerks must update the current active record or reactivate the existing inactive record.
(c) The County Clerk shall process all potential duplicate voter records prior to conducting absentee voting in any federal or statewide election by:
(i) Marking in the statewide voter registration system the duplicate voting records as not a match; or
(ii) Merging the duplicate voting records in the statewide voter registration system that are a match.
When the County Clerk has information that a registration should be cancelled, he shall mail a notice to cancel pursuant to W.S. 22-3-116. The notice shall state that the cancellation shall occur within twenty (20) days from the date the notice was mailed unless the elector asks that his name remain on the registry list. A felon who requests to remain on the list must provide proof that he is a qualified elector.
(a) Counties are required to access the statewide voter registration system only from approved locations. Any connection from a source that is not approved is a violation of the user access documents signed by all users of the system and could jeopardize the security of the HAVA-compliant statewide voter registration system.
(b) Approved locations are limited to the County Clerk's Office, unless:
(i) The County Clerk requests permission in writing for remote access;
(ii) The County Clerk certifies that the remote access meets the following criteria:
(A) The connection between the remote site and the County Clerk's Office must be through a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection; and
(B) The VPN connection must be based on one of the following technologies:
(I) IPsec (Internet Protocol Security);
(II) L2TP (layer 2 tunneling protocol); or
(III) SSL (Secure Sockets Layer); and
(C) The computer used from the remote location must have current anti-virus software installed; and
(D) The computer must be in compliance with the County's standard security practices.
(c) The County Clerk must provide written assurance to the Secretary of State's Office of compliance with these policies.