Wyoming Republican Party Asks Buchanan to Hold off on Resigning

On Sept. 2, the Wyoming Republican Party sent a letter to Ed Buchanan, Wyoming's current Secretary of State, urging him not to resign this month due to the upcoming election.

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Buchanan had announced earlier this year that he was stepping down from his role as secretary as he has been appointed to serve as a District Court Judge for the Eighth Judicial District in Goshen County.

In the letter addressed to Buchanan, the Wyoming Republican Party says:

"In our view, elections are one of the most important functions performed by the Wyoming Secretary of State. Most incoming Secretaries of State have almost two years to prepare for their first general election. However, if you resign in mid-September when there is an election 6 weeks later, it may be setting your appointed successor up to fail. We know that this is not your desire or intent. However, the people of Wyoming placed their trust in you to perform one of the most important jobs in a representational government and we ask that you see the State through the election process. The team you have created is your own and you have built it over many years. Any successor appointed would not take office until 4 weeks before election day and does not know your team members and has never worked with any of them. It is difficult to imagine who would want to assume the role on such short notice. Further, when Governor Gordon chose you for this judicial role, he knew you held one of the most important jobs in the State. That is often the case with filling any position -- the best candidates have a job they must wrap up before they can move on to a new position. Gov. Gordon knew this when he selected you and the courts will manage if you need to remain in your current role until general election canvassing is complete. Under the circumstances, on behalf of the Wyoming Republican voters who elected you, we feel compelled to respectfully ask you to remain in office until the general election process is complete and assure a smooth transition for your successor. Given the importance and urgency of this request, we will be posting this letter on our website in an effort to keep Wyoming voters informed."

The letter was signed by Republican party chairman Frank Eathorne, national committee people Nina Webber and Corey Steinmetz, along with party members Donna Rice, Brian Shuck, and Kathy Russell.

Karen Wheeler, the Deputy Secretary of State in Wyoming, said that there won't be any issues for the upcoming general election due to Buchanan resigning.

Wheeler said that elections in Wyoming are handled mostly by the county clerk in each of Wyoming's 23 counties and that the secretary of state's office mainly plays a supporting role, receiving the unofficial and official results.

"Keep in mind, the staff that does the elections here have done the elections for various secretaries in the past," Wheeler said. "Secretaries change, but staff stays the same and the integrity of elections stays the same...[for the primary] our counties did a post-election audit of random ballots and there was 100% accuracy."