Early Voting Begins in Natrona County on Friday
While the general election in Wyoming is on Nov. 8, people in Natrona County and across the state will be able to begin voting absentee starting Sept. 23.
To request an absentee ballot, you can call the Natrona County clerk's office at 307-235-9217, go in person to the office at 200 North Center Street Room 154, send a completed absentee form to their email at elections@natronacounty-wy.gov, or mail that same form to the county clerk's office.
Wyoming is one of 27 states, including the District of Columbia, that has no-excuse absentee voting, which means that voters can request an absentee ballot for any reason.
Other states, like Missouri, require voters to have a reason for requesting an absentee ballot, like because they won't be able to vote on election day or because of an illness or disability.
You must already be registered to vote in Wyoming to request an absentee ballot, and if you aren't, you can register to vote at the county clerk's office, or by mailing a notarized voter registration application to the clerk's office.
In order to register, due to a voter ID law passed by the legislature, you must provide a valid form of identification that includes a driver's license, a U.S. passport, a tribal ID, a student ID issued by a Wyoming college or university, along with several other acceptable forms of identification.
In Natrona County, besides the statewide offices of the Governor, U.S. Representative, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and State Auditor, which were mostly locked in following the August primary, there are several local elections to vote in as well.
Those include state Senate seats, state House seats, county commissioner, school board, and city council.
Among those, neither of the state Senate seats in Natrona County, Bob Ide for District 29 and Bill Landen for District 27, have any opposition, and only Jeanette Ward has a Democrat running against her, Robert Johnson, in state House District 57.
For County Commissioner, there are several candidates running for the four open seats, including Dallas Laird, current commissioners James Milne and Peter Nicolaysen, Tom Radosevich, and former Casper city council members Shawn Johnson and former vice-mayor Steven Freel.
There are six candidates running for three open positions on the Casper College board of trustees and 15 candidates running for four open positions on the Natrona County School District board of trustees.
Town councils for Casper, Mills, Evansville, and Bar Nunn also have a combined 26 candidates running for various council seats and mayor positions, with all of them contested except for Bar Nunn mayor candidate Peter Boyer, who is running unopposed.
Lastly, there are several fire positions, including three people running for two open Natrona County Fire Protection District Director positions, eight people running for three open Casper Mountain Fire District director positions, and two people running for two seats at the Natrona County Conservation District.