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26LSO-0344
2026
STATE OF WYOMING
26LSO-0344
Numbered
2.0
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0037
County officials-nonpartisan elections.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Chestek, Brown, L and Campbell, E and Senator(s) Pappas and Rothfuss
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to elections; providing for the nonpartisan nomination and election of candidates for specified county elected offices; modifying the procedure to fill vacancies for nonpartisan county elected offices; providing for the order of offices on nonpartisan election ballots; specifying the form of election ballots; making conforming amendments; repealing a conflicting provision; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1.
W.S. 5
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201, 7
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101, 9
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801, 18
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101, 22
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304(b), 22
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203 by creating a new subsection (c), 22
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215, 22
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304(b), 22
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117(a)(ix), 22
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125(a) by creating a new paragraph (vi) and by renumbering (vi) through (xiv) as (vii) through (xv), 22
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126 by creating a new subsection (c) and 22
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111(a)(ii) and (vi) are amended to read:
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201.
Office created; term; election in counties of first and second class; county clerk designated ex officio clerk in other counties.
There shall be a clerk of the district court in each organized county of the state whose term of office shall be four (4) years and until his successor is elected and qualified.
The position of clerk of the district court shall be nonpartisan.
Clerks of the district court shall be elected at general elections in counties of the first and second class; and in all other counties the county clerk shall be ex officio clerk of the district court, and shall perform all of the duties pertaining to the office of clerk of the district court.
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101.
Election; oath; bond.
A coroner shall be elected in each county for a term of four (4) years.
The position of coroner shall be nonpartisan.
He shall take the oath prescribed by the constitution of the state and give bond to the state of Wyoming, in the penal sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00), with a sufficient surety, to be approved by the board of county commissioners, conditioned that he will faithfully perform all duties required by law.
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801.
Office created; mandatory and permissive establishment.
There shall be in each judicial district in which any one (1) county has reached a population of sixty thousand (60,000) or more the office of district attorney. In each of the remaining judicial districts there shall be the office of district attorney whenever a majority of the county commissioners in each county within the judicial district shall resolve that such an office of district attorney should be created in that judicial district.
The position of district attorney shall be nonpartisan.
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101.
Nonpartisan county offices; time of qualifying.
(a)
The offices of county clerk, county treasurer, county assessor, county coroner, sheriff, county and prosecuting attorney, district attorney and clerk of the district court under this chapter shall be nonpartisan.
(b)
All county officers elected at a general election shall qualify and assume their offices on the first Monday in January next following their election.
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304.
Certification of candidates; fees.
(b)
The chairman and secretary of the state or county political convention shall certify to the county clerk the names of its party's nominees for
elected
county
offices and office of the district attorney
commissioner
.
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203.
Nonpartisan offices; separate ballot; same time.
(c)
Candidates for the nonpartisan positions of county clerk, county treasurer, county assessor, county coroner, sheriff, county and prosecuting attorney, district attorney and clerk of the district court shall be nominated only by nonpartisan primary election.
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215.
Nomination of partisan candidates and write
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in candidates, nonpartisan candidates.
(a)
On each party ballot the candidate or candidates equal in number to the number to be elected to each office who receive the largest number of votes shall be nominated and shall be entitled to have their names printed on the ballot for the next general election. A write
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in candidate shall not be nominated and shall not be entitled to have his name printed on the ballot for the next general election unless he received at least twenty
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five (25) write
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in votes in the primary election and is a registered voter in the political party for which he was nominated on the day of the primary election. An unsuccessful candidate for office at a primary election whose name is printed on any party ballot may not accept nomination for the same office at the next general election.
(b)
For nonpartisan candidates, the candidates equal in number to (2) times the number to be elected to each office that receive the largest number of votes shall be entitled to have their names printed on the ballot for the next general election. A write
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in candidate shall not be entitled to have his name printed on the ballot for the next general election unless he received at least twenty
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five (25) write
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in votes in the primary election.
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304.
Qualifications and number of signers required.
(b)
For a
countywide partisan office
county commissioner
, a petition shall be signed by registered electors, resident in the county and eligible to vote for the petitioner, numbering not less than two percent (2%) of the total number of votes cast for representative in congress in the last general election for the entire county.
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117.
Order of listing offices in partisan elections.
(a)
The major party primary and general partisan election ballots shall contain the offices to be voted on in the following order:
(ix)
Candidates for county commissioner
;
, coroner, district attorney, county attorney, sheriff, clerk, treasurer, assessor, and clerk of the district court;
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125.
Order of offices and ballot propositions on nonpartisan ballots.
(a)
The nonpartisan ballot shall contain the offices and ballot propositions to be voted on in the following order:
(vi)
Candidates for the nonpartisan county offices of county clerk, county treasurer, county assessor, county coroner, sheriff, county and prosecuting attorney, district attorney and clerk of the district court;
(vi)
(vii)
Candidates for municipal offices;
(vii)
(viii)
Candidates for community college trustees;
(viii)
(ix)
Candidates for school board trustees;
(ix)
(x)
Candidates for special district directors;
(x)
(xi)
Candidates for other offices of county subdivisions;
(xi)
(xii)
Constitutional amendments;
(xii)
(xiii)
Initiative propositions;
(xiii)
(xiv)
Referendum propositions;
(xiv)
(xv)
Other ballot propositions.
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126.
Form of nonpartisan ballots.
(c)
The official nonpartisan ballot for a general election shall be printed in substantially the following form:
(i)
Across the top shall be printed "Official Nonpartisan General Election Ballot";
(ii)
On the first line shall be printed the name of the county in which the ballot is used, the date of the election and blank lines for entry of the election district and precinct number;
(iii)
Candidates for the different offices shall be arranged in separate groups as provided by W.S. 22
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119(a)(iv);
(iv)
Except for justices of the supreme court, judges of the district court, circuit court judges and magistrates, below the list of candidates in each group shall be printed blank lines for write
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in candidates equal in number to the number of persons to be elected;
(v)
Adjacent to the name of each candidate and blank lines shall be printed a square for marking the vote. No square shall appear at the top of a column;
(vi)
Following each of the offices of justices of the supreme court, judges of the district court, circuit court judges and magistrates shall be printed: "Shall Justice/Judge/Magistrate .... be retained in office?";
(vii)
Following all offices shall be printed any ballot proposition in accordance with W.S. 22
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124.
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111.
Vacancies in other offices; temporary appointments.
(a)
Any vacancy in any other elective office in the state except representative in congress or the board of trustees of a school or community college district, shall be filled by the governing body, or as otherwise provided in this section, by appointment of a temporary successor. The person appointed shall serve until a successor for the remainder of the unexpired term is elected at the next general election and takes office on the first Monday of the following January.
Provided, if a vacancy in a four (4) year term of office occurs in the term's second or subsequent years after the first day for filing an application for nomination pursuant to W.S. 22
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209, no election to fill the vacancy shall be held and the temporary successor appointed shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
The following apply:
(ii)
If a vacancy occurs in a county elective office, except as provided in W.S. 18
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524, the board of county commissioners of the county in which the vacancy occurs shall
immediately notify in writing the chairman of the county central committee of the political party which the last incumbent represented at the time of his election under W.S. 22
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120(a)(vii), or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office. The chairman shall call a meeting of the county central committee to be held not later than fifteen (15) days after he receives notice of the vacancy.
At the meeting the county central committee shall select and transmit to the board of county commissioners the names of three (3) persons qualified to hold the office.
Within five (5) days after receiving these three (3) names, the board of county commissioners shall fill the vacancy by appointment of one (1) of the three (3) to hold the office.
If the incumbent who has vacated office did not represent a political party at the time of his election, or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office, the county commissioners shall
publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the county
and on the county website
, notice that within fifteen (15) days after publication any person qualified to hold the office may make application directly to the county commissioners for appointment to fill the vacancy.
Within twenty (20) days after the publication of the vacancy in office the county commissioners shall fill the vacancy by appointment of one (1) person qualified to hold the office from those submitting applications;
(vi)
If the county commissioners fail to fill any vacancy as required in this section within the time specified, any person residing in the county or legislative district who is qualified to hold the office may file a petition with the clerk of the district court of the county or legislative district in which the vacancy occurred requesting the judge of the district court to fill the vacancy. Within thirty (30) days after the petition is filed the judge shall fill the vacancy by appointing
a person residing in the county or legislative district belonging to the same political party as the incumbent represented at the time of his election under W.S. 22
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120(a)(vii), or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office, who is qualified to hold the office. If the incumbent did not represent any political party at the time of his election or at the time of his appointment if not elected to office, the judge may appoint
any person residing in the county or legislative district who is qualified to hold the office to fill the vacancy.
Section 2.
W.S. 22
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126(a) is repealed.
Section 3
.
This act is effective July 1, 2026
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(END)
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HB0037