August 26, 2024 |
Photo – Write-in voter line – Bigfoot99 file photo
Write-in votes for local candidates during last week’s Wyoming Primary Election resulted in changes to the outcomes in several town council races around Carbon County.
Last Thursday, the Carbon County Clerk’s Office released updated primary election results, which now include write-in candidates. The outcome of several races has changed with the inclusion of the voter selected candidates.
To be eligible for inclusion on November’s ballot, write-in candidates must receive a minimum of three votes.
The Hanna mayoral and town council races were most affected by write-in votes. In the preliminary results for the Hanna mayor’s race, Orville “Oats” Briggs and Jerry Walter received the most votes, with 48 and 47 respectively.
Current mayor Jayson Nordquist received 25 votes. It looked like Briggs and Walter would compete for the mayor’s seat in November.
However, write-in candidate Charlie George received 66 of the 72 total write-in votes. Only two candidates may advance to November’s general election, meaning Charlie George has bumped Jerry Walter out of the Hanna mayor’s race.
In the Hanna town council race, Ellen Works-Freeman received 74 votes with Nathan Seegmiller coming in second with 55. Donna Pipher was not far behind Seegmiller with 53 votes.
Hanna residents cast 146 write-in nominations during Tuesday’s primary election. When the write-ins were counted, Paul Cruz received 64 certified votes. With two open seats available, all four candidates will face off for a position on the Hanna Town Council in November.
In Encampment, Dale Davis received the minimum three required write-in votes to be added to the ballot. Two seats on the Encampment town council are up for election this November, which means that Davis will run against Susan Munson and Stas Banach.
In Medicine Bow, former mayor Lucy Schofield received enough write-in ballots to be eligible to run for both a four-year and two-year council seat in November. However, Schofield may not run in both races. The former mayor will need to choose which council seat she would like to run for, if any, before accepting either nomination.
In Saratoga, Josh Wood received the minimum three votes required to be added to the general election ballot. Wood will face off against incumbent Mike Cooley, Cory Oxford, and Nanette “Chia” Valdez for one of two open Saratoga town council seats in November.
All certified write-in candidates must accept their nomination by filing with the appropriate municipal clerk.
