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Local elections debate heats up as resident urges removal of ES&S machines and adoption of hand‑counted paper ballots
Summary
A resident presenter told the Sweetwater County commissioners the county's ES&S EBS 6.0.6.0 voting system includes uncertified components, unsupported Windows 10 devices, and missing antivirus updates, and urged immediate removal in favor of hand-counted paper ballots; commissioners asked clerks for data and raised human‑error and logistics concerns.
A member of the public told the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners July 7 that the county's current ES&S election system has multiple certification and security deficiencies and urged an immediate move to hand-counted paper ballots.
Laura McKee presented a packet she said documents uncertified peripherals (Dell Latitude laptops, OKI ballot-on‑demand printers and USB duplicators), an unsupported Windows 10 operating system with no vendor security patches without an Extended Security Update subscription, and a lack of antivirus updates. "This is not a minor compliance issue. It is a catastrophic security failure and a direct violation of Wyoming law," McKee said, asking the board to remove all ES&S EBS 6.0.6.0 systems and temporarily adopt hand-counted paper ballots with bipartisan observers and strict chain-of-custody protocols.
Commissioners expressed caution. Commissioner Jones said he shared concerns about auditability but worried that hand counts can introduce human error and partisan influence if not tightly controlled: "I think one of the things that concerns me with hand counting is the potential of human error." McKee pushed back, saying experienced teams can count quickly and accurately and that hand counts improve transparency.
Clerk Cindy Swinson confirmed she had discussed election procedures with McKee earlier but said the county maintains its current machines under state contracts and certifications. Commissioners asked staff to provide the clerk's office documentation and requested that the clerk share relevant certification and maintenance materials with the board and public. No formal action was taken at the meeting; commissioners invited further information and suggested a demonstration or pilot could be scheduled to evaluate hand-count procedures before any policy change.
The exchange highlighted a division among residents and elected officials about balancing machine-based efficiency and paper-based verifiability; the board directed staff to return with documents and to consider a demonstration of hand-count methods for commissioners and county clerks.
