Primary Absentee Voting Begins Friday
Wyoming voters who do not want to, or are unable to cast ballots in the Aug. 21 primary may do so starting Friday.
The only polling place in Natrona County will be at the old courthouse, 200 N. Center St., during regular hours -- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. -- Monday through Friday, Natrona County Clerk Renea Vitto said.
The one exception to that will be when old courthouse is closed on Parade Day on Tuesday, Vitto added.
Besides casting a ballot at the courthouse, people can call her office at 235-9206 and request a ballot be sent to them by mail, she said.
People also can request a ballot online at the County Clerk's elections website.
No identification to vote is necessary if voters are already registered, Vitto said.
"Only a new registrant needs to show us their ID," she said.
Valid identification includes a Wyoming driver's license, Vitto said. If the registrant has an out-of-state drivers license, they need to provide the last four numbers of their Social Security number, she said.
Over the years, primary absentee voting has stayed consistent with about 20 percent of voters casting their ballots instead of going to the polls, Vitto said.
"The only time it's really a rush and people care to get out and vote is always in a presidential election," she said.
Regrettably, that shows a lot of voter apathy, Vitto said.
"There's never as much turnout in the mid-terms," she said. "And that's sad, because that is all your state and your county and your lot of city councilmen; all that. That's the majority of those people. And those are the people who make decisions for right where you live."
Voters in Natrona County will be nominating candidates in their political parties for these positions: U.S. Representative; U.S. Senator; Statewide offices -- governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, superintendent of public instruction; State House; State Senate; County offices -- commission, assessor, clerk, clerk of district court, coroner, district attorney, sheriff, treasurer; Municipal offices in Casper, Bar Nunn, Evansville, Mills.
For more information about absentee voting statewide, visit the Wyoming Secretary of State's website.