Wyoming committee holds lengthy hearing on HB 215 to ban electronic voting equipment

The Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee held a public hearing on House Bill 215 on an introductory agenda item, hearing more than two hours of testimony from sponsors, county residents, cybersecurity commentators and election workers about a proposal to prohibit electronic voting machines statewide.

Representative Scott Smith, the bill sponsor, told the committee HB 215 would “require the use of paper ballots for elections, requiring hand counting of paper ballots, specifying procedures for hand counting of paper ballots, repealing provisions related to electronic voting machines and electronic poll books, revising procedures for the post election ballot audit, and providing for testing of hand counting, tabulating, reporting systems, and providing for election observers, providing penalties, making conforming amendments, providing for rule making, and providing for an effective date.”

The bill drew strongly divided public comment. Supporters said hand counting restores public confidence and reduces cybersecurity exposure; opponents — including experienced election judges and civic groups — warned that the draft contains statutory conflicts, would create chain-of-custody and adjudication problems at polling places, and could cause access or timing issues for voters with disabilities.

Why it matters

Supporters said HB 215 addresses vulnerabilities they described in current electronic voting systems, citing failed or incomplete logic-and-accuracy testing in recent election cycles, software and vendor concerns, and limited ability to examine proprietary machine components. Opponents said the proposed text contains internal inconsistencies about when ballots are to be counted, how “rejected” ballots are defined and handled, and how adjudications and voter assistance would work, and urged…