League of Women Voters to host Albany County candidate forums this summer

The League of Women Voters of Laramie and the Albany County Public Library are again putting candidates in the same room, starting with a June 18 forum on the Albany County Commission at the library in downtown Laramie. The series will be open to the public, streamed live for people who cannot make it in person, and recorded for later viewing, giving voters several ways to watch before ballots are cast.

That first forum opens a run of eight candidate nights that stretches through July 23. After county commissioners on June 18, the schedule moves to Laramie City Council on June 25, Albany County clerk, treasurer, coroner and clerk of district court on July 2, several House districts on July 9, statewide constitutional offices on July 15, superintendent of public instruction on July 16, and county attorney and sheriff on July 23.

The timing matters. Candidate filing for the 2026 primary ran from May 14 to May 29, and Wyoming’s primary election is August 18, followed by the general election on November 3. That leaves a narrow window for voters to compare contenders side by side, especially in races that can otherwise be scattered across separate offices, separate campaigns and separate campaign messages.

The library said the livestream link for the first forum will be posted by June 18. The League also said it will publish candidate information on Vote411 after filing is finalized, and it plans to continue a more than 50-year partnership with the Laramie Boomerang to produce a printed Albany County Primary Election Voter Guide on July 22.

Albany County officials list county commissioner, coroner, attorney, sheriff, clerk, assessor, treasurer and clerk of district court among the offices on the 2026 ballot. Municipal candidates file separately with the Laramie City Clerk’s Office, even though county officials handle the election process, and the county clerk serves as the chief election officer at the county level. That makes the forum series one of the few direct chances to question candidates about taxes, roads, schools, public safety, healthcare access and the basic functions of county government before the August primary starts to narrow the field.