Albany County sets April 20 voter-registration deadline for special election

Albany County voters who still need to register or update an address, name or party information have until Monday, April 20, to do it without triggering same-day voting rules for the May special election. Miss that deadline, and from April 21 through May 4 any new registration or change must be completed in person and paired with a ballot cast the same day.

The fastest place to verify a registration is the Albany County Clerk’s Office at 525 Grand Ave., Suite 202, in Laramie. The office says Wyoming is exempt from the National Voter Registration Act, so voters cannot register through motor vehicle offices or other state agencies. Before Election Day, voting is available at the Election Office in Room 202 of the Albany County Courthouse, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Tuesday, May 5, registration at the polls will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and picture identification will be required.

The deadline lands just ahead of a countywide ballot question with major local implications. Voters will decide whether to authorize a 1% specific purpose sales and use excise tax expected to raise $95 million for projects in Albany County, the City of Laramie, the Laramie Regional Airport and the Town of Rock River. County documents say Albany County’s share would be $43,769,250, including $39,583,063 for a new Albany County Services building, courthouse-related work and site improvements, plus $4,186,187 for fairgrounds grandstand and arena upgrades.

The county ballot also would authorize up-front general-obligation bonds of up to $13.5 million for part of the county work, with a maturity of up to 14 years and a maximum interest rate of 5.75%. The airport would receive $4 million, the City of Laramie $45,555,750 and the Town of Rock River $1,675,000. County and city materials describe the measure as a renewal of the existing 6th penny tax, which is limited to capital projects and does not fund general operations.

Local governments have framed the 2026 proposal as the next step after the 2018 SPET tax, which Albany County voters approved on Aug. 21, 2018, for $65,582,470 and which the city says will be fully collected in spring 2026. The City of Laramie says the new proposal was shaped through public meetings and joint meetings of the Albany County Commissioners, Laramie City Council and Rock River Town Council, and that the tax rate would remain the same if voters approve it. The county’s special-election documents, including the notice and polling-place resolution, are posted on Albany County’s special-elections page.