Auditing the Votes

The results of the 2024 General Election are now official following an audit held by the Carbon County Clerk’s Office on November 7. Along with certifying the results of the general election, the clerk’s office also reported a 105% turnout.

The audit was conducted in the Carbon County Commissioner’s Room at the Carbon Building — Courthouse Annex Room by Gwynn Bartlett, Carbon County Clerk, and Lisa Smith, Chief Deputy Clerk.

Of the 6,446 ballots cast, 75 were randomly selected for Carbon County to audit and assess their validity. The process was open to the public, allowing them to review the process.

According to Bartlett, the individual ballot images were compared to the actual cast vote record with no discrepancies discovered.

“We have never had one [a discrepancy], but I would say we would immediately do a thorough investigation and determine if the result would affect any races,” said Bartlett. “If it did, we would recount depending on the circumstances.”

On election day, the Carbon County Clerk’s Office processed 1,066 new registrations or re-registered voters according to Bartlett.

“The turnout was 105.69% which includes the new registrations and voters re-registered after the 2022 data purge,” said Bartlett. “The percentage totals over 100% since Wyoming allows same day voter registration [and Carbon County voters took advantage of registration].”

Early voting does not occur in Carbon County, so 2,100 absentee ballots—or approximately 32.5% of the total ballots cast—were cast by mail-in or drop-in vote casting. The election process was steady and smooth with no real issues, according to Bartlett

For Precinct 11-01, Inside Saratoga, voter turnout was 101.70% with 882 registered voters and 897 ballots cast. Former president Donald Trump received 670 votes while Vice President Kamala Harris received 201 votes. Senator John Barrasso received 674 votes while challenger Scott Morrow received 200 votes. Representative Harriet Hageman received 647 votes and challenger Kyle Cameron received 173 votes.

Precinct 11-02, Outside Saratoga, saw 105.11% voter turnout with 470 registered voters and 494 ballots cast. Trump received 383 votes while Harris received 96 votes. Barrasso received 393 votes and Morrow received 84 votes. Hageman received 373 votes while Cameron received 79 votes.

In Encampment, Precinct 12-01, 242 votes went to Trump and 48 votes went to Harris. Barrasso received 243 votes and Morrow received 46 votes. Hageman received 239 votes and Cameron received 41 votes. In Precinct 13-1, Riverside, Trump received 189 votes while Harris received 58. Meanwhile, 198 votes went to Barrasso and 49 went to Morrow. Hageman received 193 votes and Cameron received 49.

There were no changes to the results initially reported by the Carbon County Clerk’s Office on the night of November 5. Mike Cooley and Cory Oxford received the most votes for the four-year term on Saratoga Town Council with 590 and 586 votes, respectively. Chia Valdez received 201 votes. Bub Barkhurst received 557 votes for the two-year unexpired term to Sophia Borg’s 275.

Similarly, there were no changes to the Encampment Town Council results as Susan Munson received 150 votes and Stas Banach received 135 while Dale Davis received 124. In Riverside, there were no changes either with Linda Brown receiving 43 votes and Mark Helwick receiving 29 votes for the four-year term on Riverside Town Council. Lisa Lorenz received 49 votes for the two-unexpired term.

“As always, thanks to all the poll workers as they are imperative to a successful election process. We obviously couldn’t do it without each of them and we appreciate their service,” said Bartlett. “An additional thanks to the county team. We have involvement from various offices loaning out employees to help, law enforcement, buildings and grounds, and emergency management.”

The final, official 2024 General Election results are posted on the Carbon County website, http://www.carbonwy.com/997/Election-Results.