Strong turnout as Wyomingites brave long lines, frigid temps to vote

Amid a high wind warning and near-freezing temperatures, voters Tuesday morning stood in a line snaking outside the Laramie High School gym and into the blustery weather. It was about an hour wait, and at least one woman gave up her place in line, realizing she needed more layers of clothing. 

A handful of the bundled-up new voters were excited to cast their first official ballot. The Moore family was there with daughter and first-time voter Campbell, who told WyoFile, “I’m just excited to get out there and do the right thing and do what I can do through my vote.

“I think everybody should vote,” she added. 

If the long lines at polling places across Wyoming are any indication, plenty of people agreed with that sentiment.

One such line of voters donned coats, caps and gloves to brave intermittent sleet and snow Tuesday morning at Natrona County’s largest polling center. Though many named the presidential race as their primary motivation for getting out to vote, others were paying close attention to local races and initiatives.

Casper resident Haley Lensert has two children who participate in the Casper Oilers hockey program, and the players are in desperate need of a second sheet of ice in town, she said.

“That’s been a real big issue in our family, and we want to see the sport grow,” Lensert told WyoFile, adding that she supports the whole slate of local tax initiatives, which include an extra gym, a chairlift replacement at the city-run Hogadon Basin Ski Area and an upgrade of the local animal shelter. 

“I came to vote for the propositions proposed by the city to add an additional six-cent tax to provide additional services that our city desperately needs,” Lensert said. “Our city only continues to grow, and we need to support it.”

Jeremy Norcross, 42, said he’s most concerned about the cost of living, and though he hasn’t paid close attention to local races, he believes presidential candidate Donald Trump can best deliver on improving the economy “across the board.”

“I was really looking forward to voting for Donald Trump this year,” he said.

Statistics released Tuesday by the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office appeared to validate the anecdotal evidence of heavy turnout. Before polls even opened Tuesday, Wyomingites had already cast 115,785 ballots — roughly 45% of the total number of registered voters.

“Voter turnout remains strong across the Cowboy State as Wyomingites exercise their right to vote in all 23 counties,” Secretary of State Chuck Gray said in a statement.

Wyoming’s August primary, in contrast, experienced the lowest turnout since 2016, figures show.

During that primary, only 130 people voted at the Fort Washakie school gym in the southern part of the Wind River Indian Reservation. On Tuesday, nearly 100 people had voted by 11 a.m. — putting it on track to easily eclipse the primary turnout.

“It feels like it’s been very busy,” polling station manager Brad Christensen said as a line formed near the front door.

Many voters were casting ballots for their first time, he said, or for the first time in many years, which required re-registering. “That’s holding things up,” he said. 

Two poll watchers sat on chairs silently observing the queue of people, who registered before disappearing behind cubbies with their ballots. Voters were there primarily for the presidential election, they told WyoFile, with hopes that the new president would lead to a calmer and more cooperative world. 

“We need a change,” said one Eastern Shoshone woman who declined to give her name. Jessica Bell of Fort Washakie, meanwhile, wasn’t shy about her pick. “I’m voting for Kamala,” Bell said, citing reproductive rights.

Bell also cast a vote for Democratic candidate Ivan Posey, an Eastern Shoshone man who is challenging incumbent Republican Sarah Penn, a non-native nurse practitioner for the House District 33 state seat. Bell has long known Posey, she said, describing him as a community leader. 

Nadine Meeks, a longtime resident of Fort Washakie, also spoke of cooperation. No matter the elected position, Meeks said, “I believe everybody needs to work together.”

And though House District 33 extends beyond the reservation to Fremont County towns like Atlantic City and Hudson, Meeks also noted it would be important for the majority-native constituency to have representation in the Legislature. If elected, Posey would be the sole Indigenous lawmaker in the state body.

“They need to have a voice,” Meeks said.  

Drifting snow and below-freezing temperatures greeted dozens of Carbon County residents who packed into the parking lot of the Jeffrey Memorial Community Center at daybreak on Election Day as voting began at 7 a.m. 

Betty Patterson, 73, was among those who cast a ballot at the community center that morning. She explained that she was voting with the interests of her family in mind. 

“I have two daughters and three granddaughters,” Patterson said. Their interests and control over their body, she said, are at stake. “They’re in the age range.”

Abortion loomed large in the mind of Patterson, who said she’s voted for “a lot of Republicans” over the years. During his single term as president, Trump appointed three justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — who tilted the U.S. Supreme Court farther to the right and overturned the half-century-old precedent of Roe v. Wade that protected women’s right to an abortion. 

No one issue rose above all others in Debbie Walker’s mind after voting Tuesday. The 66-year-old Rawlins woman was just ready to be done with a “dirty” race, “divisive” times and wanted to see unity restored to the United States. One candidate, she said, is better equipped to get that done. 

“It’s not Donald Trump,” Walker said. “He’s a lying, cheating man. He’s crazy. He shouldn’t even be running for office.” 

But Trump had plenty of supporters at the community center on Tuesday. 

Elaine Ciss, 54, was a recent transplant who landed in Rawlins after fleeing southern California, which she likened to “hell.” Trump, she said, earned her vote because she believes he’ll be better for the economy, for the border and for the overall safety of the nation. If the former president loses his second consecutive election bid on Tuesday, it’s not an outcome that she’ll trust or accept. 

“It’s already rigged,” Ciss said. “If it’s all above board, what’s the problem? Let people watch.” 

An official poll watcher, present to monitor the vote, stood a few feet behind her.