NEWCASTLE — The Wyoming State Legislature’s Weston County Clerk 2024 General Election Subcommittee has issued a subpoena to Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock for testimony at the group’s meeting in Casper later this month.
The subpoena was issued after Hadlock and her deputy stated that they did not have time to testify when asked, according to Rep. Christopher Knapp, R-Gillette, chairman of the Wyoming Legislature’s Management Audit Committee, which authorized the subcommittee’s formation.
On September 22, Knapp told the News Letter Journal that the subcommittee is focused to determining the truth surrounding Weston County’s 2024 General Election irregularities.
He stated that in order to accomplish this, the subcommittee required all papers, reports, and testimony, which is a critical component of obtaining the complete picture.
According to Knapp, the subcommittee contacted Hadlock and requested her to testify. She declined, claiming a schedule issue.
The subcommittee offered to enable Hadlock or her deputy clerk to appear by Zoom on her behalf in order to avoid a subpoena, but both declined.
Because both declined to testify, Knapp stated that the panel issued a subpoena to compel Hadlock’s testimony.
He stated that having her answer the subcommittee’s questions will help generate a clear picture of the findings to be presented to the Management Audit Committee next month.
Hadlock is set to speak before the Weston County Clerk 2024 General Election Subcommittee on September 29 in Casper.
She is the first to speak on the agenda, at 10:35 a.m.
As previously reported by the News Letter Journal, the subcommittee was formed during a Management Audit Committee meeting on July 9 to look into a ballot counting error that resulted in more than 1,000 votes not being counted in Weston County’s House District 1 race, as well as at least one other mistake that resulted in a miscount in the county commission election.
The subcommittee will also investigate the clerk’s activities following the revelation of the error.
The proposal was put forward by Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-William “receive and compel testimony, investigate and produce a comprehensive report specifically to … findings and conclusions regarding the post-election audit that was submitted by the Weston County Clerk after the 2024 general election and the administrative process used to investigate and adjudicate consequences for those actions.”
Knapp stated that it was the Management Audit Committee’s responsibility to review current statutes and evaluate what went wrong and where changes may be made.
He stated that the panel will only review “findings of fact” and will not make any decisions.
“This is not a witch-hunt. We’re not attempting to go back in time, but rather forward to see where our statutes failed,” Knapp stated at the time. “This was a serious, serious issue, and I think we owe it to those constituents and the voters of Wyoming to look at this and say what statutes were in play, what statutes maybe didn’t get carried out properly with the intent that they were meant to or what we need to add to statutes.”
Secretary of State Chuck Gray spoke in favor of the subcommittee, citing his main worry as Hadlock’s phony post-election audit, which he developed and submitted to the state.
Gray claimed that the audit should have identified problems with the vote tallies but instead found no anomalies.
Prior to the formation of the subcommittee, Gray and his office launched their own investigation into election-related activities. The findings of his investigation were disclosed in March, and he recommended Hadlock’s removal from office, citing “misconduct or malfeasance” in her actions.
The investigation uncovered not only flaws with the postelection audit, but also with ballot misalignment, wrong tabulation, inaccurate unofficial results, testing concerns, and Hadlock’s lack of accountability.
The probe was turned over to Governor Mark Gordon, who conducted his own investigation and revealed his findings on May 23.
His probe was prompted by a citizen complaint.
“The Governor decided that, while Clerk Hadlock made significant errors in the 2024 Weston County elections, her acts did not constitute ‘willful neglect’ or’malicious intent.’ As a result, he will not direct the Attorney General to launch an action to remove the clerk from office, according to a release announcing the results.
Gray claimed Gordon’s investigation and judgment failed to address the bogus post-election audit, which he deemed the most critical issue.
Gordon did chastise Hadlock for not being as forthright as he would have wanted and for mismanaging the matter.
“It is clear that Clerk Hadlock made many mistakes and exhibited a high degree of unprofessional and perhaps slipshod management of the election,” according to him. “Still, the system set up to discover, correct, and properly count votes worked here.”
According to the meeting notes at wyoleg.gov, the subcommittee will focus on the post-election audit and the relevant statutes.
So, I believe we had various flaws. One was the ballots. “I understand that was probably a mistake,” Knapp stated in July. “The focus I have is, where did we fail statutorily in the audit process and having that oversight for that compliance.”
According to wyoleg.gov, the subcommittee will gather information to develop a report that will be presented to the Management Audit Committee for consideration at its meeting on October 21.
The committee, which includes Chair Rodriguez-Williams, Rep. Jayme Lien, R-Casper, Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, and Sen. Dan Laursen, R-Powell, will meet in Casper in the Thyra Thomson State Office Building.
A livestream will be available on wyoleg.gov.
A limited number of individuals who sign up will be able to provide virtual public comment.
The committee chair will determine the amount of time, as per Management Council policy.
Those willing to submit virtual opinion should complete the form so that the committee is aware of their intentions. The URL to register is on the subcommittee’s page at wyoleg.gov.
Only those who register and get an emailed Zoom invitation from the Legislative Service Office will be eligible to testify.
Anyone wanting to submit materials to the committee should do so online, with hard copies on three-hole paper.
According to the website, all items will be included in the meeting’s official record and kept on file at the Legislative Services Office.
In addition to Hadlock, Debra Piana, the chairwoman of the Weston County Democratic Party, and Ann Slagle, an election judge, will testify.
The agenda states that both are members of the Weston County Hand-Count Committee and are slated to testify following Hadlock. Secretary of State Chuck Gray will also testify at 11:30 a.m., with public comment at 12:30 p.m.
