October 18, 2022 |
Carbon County has one drop box where voters can submit their ballots prior to Election Day. The box is located at the County Court House. Three, high-resolution, motion activated cameras watch it day and night to safeguard against tampering or ballot-box stuffing.
Interim Secretary of State Karl Allred wants the use of drop boxes across Wyoming discontinued. Allred sent letter to the state’s county clerks earlier this month requesting they do away with the after-hours boxes. Media reports suggest clerks largely have ignored the request.
Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett told Bigfoot 99 that election security is her top priority. Bartlett said the lone box here is under constant surveillance.
Pictured above: File photo of the ballot drop box used in 2020 at Carbon County Courthouse. Photo by Cali O’Hare/Bigfoot 99.
The county clerk’s office does not advertise the drop-off box. Bartlett said fewer than five ballots are deposited into it on most days.
Ballot boxes were the “hanging chads” of the 2020 Presidential Election. Often funded by sources other than local governments, such as billionaire Mark Zuckerberg did in Atlanta, the boxes were easy targets for election fraud. The Dinesh D’Souza documentary “2,000 mules,” focuses on how ballot boxes in key precincts of major cities of swing states were stuffed with votes day and night by shady-looking political operatives.
The Carbon County clerk said from reviewing surveillance footage of the drop-off box in Rawlins, the most ballots she has seen anyone deposit in the box is two. The chain of custody in how the ballots are handled confirmed a woman drop off a ballot for herself and a family member.
Bartlett said security measures are in place to ensure the integrity of the election process here. She added that the box is used for more than election ballots. The county maintains the drop box for the convenience of residents doing business with other county offices.
The Carbon County clerk added that fewer than 10 drop boxes are located around the state. Bartlett said all the drop boxes are positioned at county courthouses and under the same constant surveillance as the one here.
At the time of last week’s interview with Bartlett, she said her office had retrieved 40 ballots from the box since absentee voting had started. A total of 1,166 absentee ballots were mailed on September 23rd with 385 in total returned.
Bartlett said voters can track their absentee ballots no matter how it is returned. The chain of custody with each ballot allows for easy cross-referencing. Simply contact the clerk’s office to receive a status update.
Absentee ballots are available only by requesting one from the county clerk’s office. A written request must contain your name, physical address, address where to mail the ballot and date of birth. Absentee ballots must be returned to the clerk’s office and must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Absentee ballots cannot be returned to any polling place—only to the clerk’s office in Rawlins. Election Day is Tuesday, November 8th.
