[LARAMIE BOOMERANG]
Polls open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. throughout Albany County
County clerk hopes contested races will boost voter turnout
BY AARON LECLAIR / LBEDIT7@LARAMIEBOOMERANG.COM • TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2010
Robert Ramlo, from the city’s road and bridge department, sets up voting stations at Linford Elementary School. Robert Monteith/Boomerang photographer
The Albany County Clerk’s Office is hoping for a good turnout for today’s primary election, which features contested races for sheriff, county commission, governor and the Wyoming Legislature.
From 7 a.m.–7 p.m., voters in 28 precincts will flock to 18 polling places in Laramie, Centennial, Rock River and in private residences throughout the county.
“Hopefully, people will just really get out and exercise their rights,” County Clerk Jackie Gonzales said while preparing polling places on Monday.
Albany County residents will vote for local candidates in House districts 13, 14, 45, 46 and 47; in Senate districts 9 and 11; and for city, county, statewide and national offices.
The largest races for local offices include those for county commissioner and sheriff.
Five former and current law enforcement officers are vying to succeed Sheriff Jim Pond, who is retiring. They include Republicans Lt. Ron DeMello and Bob Miller and Democrats Lt. Michael Garcia, Dave O’Malley and Kevin Lundahl.
The county commissioners’ race has six candidates in Republicans John Brengman, Eric S. Lewis and Jerry Kennedy and Democrats Hugh Lockhart, Pat Gabriel and Tim Chesnut.
Since there are two seats open on the county commission, the top two finishers in the Republican and Democratic primaries will advance to the Nov. 2 general election.
In addition to local races, Laramie has four candidates running for statewide offices.
State Sen. Mike Massie is running for state superintendent of public instruction. He is the only Democrat in the race and will face the winner among Republicans Cindy Hill, Ted Adams, former superintendent Trent Blankenship and current superintendent Jim McBride.
Laramie Democrat Andrew Simmons is running for secretary of state against incumbent Max Maxfield.
Democrat Pete Gosar and Republican Tom Ubben are among a dozen candidates who are competing to be Wyoming’s next governor.
Laramie also has seven candidates running for seats in the Wyoming Legislature.
Democrats Chris Rothfuss and Jodi Guerin are vying for Senate District 9. Unless a write-in candidate emerges on the Republican side, the winner will be uncontested in the general election.
Democrat Cathy Connolly and Republicans Glenn Moniz and Kermit C. Brown are running unopposed in House districts 13, 46 and 14, respectively.
Democrat Seth Carson and Republican Matt Greene are running for House District 45. Both are unopposed in the primary election and — barring write-in candidates — will face each other in the general election.
People who either voted in the 2008 general election or who registered before Election Day do not need to bring picture identification, Gonzales said.
“As long as you’re already registered to vote we’ve seen your I.D. once, so it’s not necessary to see it again,” she said.
Voters who haven’t registered yet will need to bring a picture I.D. with them to the polls.
“They need to bring a picture identification with them, and they need to stop at the voter registration table because they’ll need to register to vote before they cast their ballot,” Gonzales said. “(Picture I.D.) could include a passport, a driver’s license or a student I.D.”
In addition to registering to vote, people can change their party affiliation, home address or name at the polls today.
For voters with hearing or vision impairments, each polling place will have AutoMARK voting machines that have earphones and a computer touch screen with a “zoom” feature to enlarge ballot text.
Gonzales said her office has mailed 700 absentee ballots and has counted an equal number of early votes.
The number of absentee ballots requested and early votes cast is comparable to past primaries, which have an average voter turnout of only 30-34 percent, she said.
“We always hope for the highest percentage that we can possibly get,” she said. “Unfortunately, the primary election doesn’t have a high-percentage turnout.”
Gonzales said she hopes the contested primary races for sheriff and governor will lead to a voter turnout much higher than the historical average.
The Albany County Clerk’s Office will post unofficial results online tonight at http://www.co.albany.wy.us/election-results.aspx.
Write-in votes will not be processed until Wednesday, Gonzales said.
The Albany County Canvassing Board will meet at 9 a.m. Friday to validate the results.
Gonzales said the public is welcome to drop by the Albany County Election Building to watch the canvassing board work.
- To see where your polling location, go to http://www.co.albany.wy.us/poll-locator.aspx.
- To see a complete list of polling locations, go to http://www.co.albany.wy.us/polling-places.aspx.
- To see a list of candidates for city and county offices, go to http://www.co.albany.wy.us/candidates-filed.aspx.
- For a list of candidates for national and state offices, go to http://soswy.state.wy.us/Elections/Elections.aspx.