Chapter 14
Polling Places

Section 1.                Authority.  These rules are authorized by W.S. 22-2-121(b).

Section 2.                Definitions.

(a)               "Ballot Box" means any container that holds election ballots that can be locked and sealed.

(b)               "Auxiliary Bin" means any container that contains voted ballots that have not been tabulated by a tabulating machine due to equipment failure or other emergency as determined by the County Clerk, that can be locked and sealed.

Section 3.                Prior to Polls Opening.

(a)               The County Clerk and their election judges shall ensure the security of the equipment and materials in transit to the polling place and at the polling place prior to the opening of the polls. Election judges shall recheck all security seals and security measures prior to the opening of the polls.

(b)               Election judges shall inventory ballots delivered pursuant to W.S. 22-12- 108, and the total shall be marked in the poll book or inventory log.

Section 4.                During Polling Hours.

(a)               Any issue encountered with the voting equipment shall be reported by the election judges to the County Clerk's Office. The county clerk shall report the issue to the Secretary of State as soon as possible.

(b)               In precincts where absentee ballots are counted at the polls, a sign shall be posted stating that election judges may be processing absentee ballots while voters are in the polling area.

(c)               Poll watchers from any political party are allowed at the polling place only if the County Clerk has been notified of the name of the poll watcher, and the time and polling place that the poll watcher will serve. Election judges shall be trained by the County Clerk on poll watchers' duties prior to election day. Poll watchers may not sit at the same table as election judges. No one other than the election judges may ask voters questions.  Poll watchers shall wear appropriate identification as determined by the County Clerk.

(d)               If the election judges determine that a precinct will not have a sufficient number of ballots and the polling place does not have a ballot on demand printer, the election judges shall notify the County Clerk as soon as possible. When the County Clerk has been notified by the election judges of the need for additional ballots:

(i)                 The County Clerk shall prepare and deliver ballots to the polling place and document the number of additional ballots printed and delivered;

(ii)               Upon delivery of the ballots, the election judges shall confirm the number of ballots received at the polling place and mark the number on the balance sheet prior to using the ballots;

(iii)             If the County Clerk does not have a ballot on demand printer, the County Clerk shall supply the precinct with copies of the ballot to serve as emergency ballots. Election judges shall confirm the number of emergency ballots received at the polling place and mark the number on the balance sheet prior to using the emergency ballots;

(iv)             Voted emergency ballots shall be placed in the auxiliary bin and shall be treated by the County Clerk as damaged ballots and processed in accordance with Chapter 6 of the Election Procedures Rules.

(v)               If the emergency ballots cannot be duplicated and tabulated, they shall be counted by hand by the canvassing board and the results tallied in the poll book or inventory log.

(e)               If a ballot box is full, election judges may open the bin to rearrange the ballots. Should the ballot box be too full to sufficiently rearrange the ballots, two (2) election judges from different political parties, if available, may remove the full ballot box and replace it with an empty ballot box. The election judges shall fill out, sign, date and time stamp a form stating that the ballots were removed.

Section 5.                After the Polls Close.

(a)               If the County Clerk has directed election judges to process absentee ballots after the polls close, the election judges shall not process the absentee ballots until all voters in line have voted.

(b)               The election judges shall count the number of ballots in the auxiliary bin, mark this number on the balance sheet, and transfer the ballots from the auxiliary bin to a sealed ballot box to be delivered to the County Clerk.

Section 6.                Opening, Closing, and Re-Opening the Polls.

(a)               As used in this section, "opening of polls," means activating a ballot tabulation device so that votes may be tabulated, "closing of polls," means deactivating a ballot tabulation device so that votes may not be tabulated, and "re-opening of polls" means activating a ballot tabulation device, after the ballot tabulation device has been deactivated. "Opening of polls," "closing of polls," and "re-opening of polls," does not mean the opening or closing of a polling place.

(b)               Polls shall be opened, closed, and re-opened in accordance with statute, and at the direction of the County Clerk.

(c)               At the direction of the County Clerk and in the presence of two (2) or more election judges from different political parties, if available, the polls may be re-opened subject to the following:

(i)                 Election judges shall provide notice to voters present at the polls.

(ii)               If election judges find ballots in the auxiliary bin or discover other non-counted ballots after the polls have closed, they shall call the County Clerk and report it immediately.

(iii)             The County Clerk may instruct election judges to re-open the polls to process all non-counted ballots. If the County Clerk does not instruct election judges to re-open the polls and process all non-counted ballots, the County Clerk shall submit the non-counted ballots to the County Canvassing Board to process.

(d)               Election judges shall sign all statements printed from the machine tapes when the polls are opened or closed.

(e)               If election judges re-open the polls, the election judges shall provide a written statement of events to be reviewed by the County Canvassing Board.