Albany County conducts required audit of May special election ballots

Election workers gathered at the Albany County Elections Office in Laramie at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 7, to review ballots from the county’s May 5 special election and verify the unofficial count that sent the 1% sales tax measure to voters.

The post-election audit was required under Wyoming law and carried out by the County Clerk’s Office, election staff and sworn election officials representing both major parties. County notice said the review used a statistically significant ballot sample size, and members of the public were allowed to attend the audit in person, though they could not view ballot images or cast vote records.

The audit was the county’s built-in check on the May special election, which voters approved. Unofficial results showed 3,051 votes in favor and 852 against the tax proposal. Wyoming Public Media reported that about 3,900 residents voted and that 78% supported renewal of the tax, which is tied to projects for the City of Laramie, Albany County, the Town of Rock River and the Laramie Regional Airport.

The count mattered beyond the tax itself because Albany County used vote centers for the first time in the 2026 special election instead of traditional precinct polling places. Voters could cast ballots at one of five locations: the Albany County Fairgrounds, Albany County Public Library, Ice and Events Center, Municipal Operations Center and Rock River Town Hall.

The timing left little breathing room between one election milestone and the next. Albany County’s 2026 election calendar listed May 8 as the first date to publish the primary-election proclamation, with the declaration or change of party deadline set for May 13 and candidate filing opening May 14. Statewide, the next major election dates are the Aug. 18 primary and the Nov. 3 general election.

Wyoming law requires county clerks to complete post-election audits no later than the first Thursday after a primary, special or general election. State audit rules base the sample size on the smallest observable percentage between the top two vote-getters in the contest, and a 2023 law caps the number of ballots audited at 5% of ballots cast. For Albany County, the audit was meant to show voters that the county was checking its own work before the 2026 election cycle moved on.