EVANSTON — According to the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office as of Wednesday, May 1, a little over 3,000 Uinta County voter registrations have been purged from the records. If a registered voter did not vote in the last general election in 2022, they should have received a notification from the county clerk’s office that they needed to notify the clerk if they wished to remain registered. Those who did not contact the clerk’s office were automatically removed from the voter records.

At the end of 2023, there were 10,264 registered voters in Uinta County and, as of January, there were only 7,260 registered voters. In May 2024, the Secretary of State’s office shows a total of 7,319 voters in Uinta County, which shows that, perhaps, some people responded to the notification and contacted the clerk’s office before the deadline.

According to the Secretary of State’s office there are currently approximately 83,500 fewer registered voters in the entire state than there were at the end of 2022, a roughly 28% drop. Wyoming law requires county clerks to purge voters who did not cast a ballot in the most recent general election.

It is not unusual for voter rolls to fluctuate; people will often vote in the primary election and then for a variety of reasons do not vote in the general and sometimes voters have died or moved away.

“There has been a big misunderstanding about this purging,” Uinta County Clerk Amanda Hutchinson said. “It is nothing new. According to Wyoming state statute we are required to purge the voter records each February.”

Hutchinson said her office is happy to help anyone with voter registration questions.

“I really encourage people to check their voter registration status,” Hutchinson said. “Contact my office at 307-783-0306 with any questions or concerns. I would hate to have them wait and come to the polls without the proper materials to get re-registered. They need to contact my office to see what is required.”

Qualified newly registering voters or purged voters who are re-registering will be permitted to select a political party affiliation when they register to vote, even if it is after May 15, including at the polls on election day.

In the past, registered voters were permitted to change their party affiliation at any time, even on primary election day. That is no longer the case; voters who wish to change their party affiliation must do so before May 15.

Registered voters are now prohibited from changing their party affiliation during the 96 days preceding the primary election day (Aug. 20) and in conjunction with the candidate filing period which runs May 16 to the 31. After the primary election, registered voters may then request to change their party affiliation.

The time for absentee voting has changed from 45 days prior to the election to 28 days prior to each election. Uniformed and overseas citizens who wish to vote absentee will still be allotted 45 days prior to each election for absentee voting.