Recount in Sheridan County

Three Sheridan County residents thought the Nov. 7 election results looked a bit strange.

Hardy Tate, Jane Vanvig, and Liz Howell wondered how Democrat Gary Trauner could lose to Republican Barbara Cubin by 628 votes. It seemed fishy for lots of reasons. Trauner lost to Cubin for the state’s lone U.S. House seat by 1,000 votes statewide. There’s a healthy Democratic Party registration in the county and Trauner’s campaign had received a lot of support from Republicans. Trauner has been quoted as saying the county’s results seemed to be a "statistical anomaly."

So the three asked for a hand recount of the county’s ballots through a public information process. Their goal, according to a Jan. 14 AP story, is "to ensure that new voting machines counted the ballots accurately." That recount takes place Jan. 22 in Sheridan. Members of the media will cover the proceedings.

Recounts are normally done by machine in WYO. So this particular recount should be interesting for all of us.

What happens is Trauner makes up votes? Too late – the election has already been certified. But it will cause the citizenry – and the county clerk’s office – to be more skeptical of electronic voting machines. One hopes it will improve the 2008 elections.

What if the recount finds nothing amiss? Then Sheridan County voters have a lot to answer for, as it will be the only one of the state’s largest counties to look at Cubin and see a leader.