Constitution Party Gains Major Status After Election Certification

Wyoming residents will see a third political option on their ballots in 2028. The State Canvassing Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to certify the 2026 general election results. This certification officially grants the Constitution Party major party status in the state.

The board consists of the secretary of state, the governor, the treasurer, and the auditor. Secretary of State Chuck Gray chaired the session. The group approved the State Abstract Certification, a document that accounts for all results from the November vote. Gray described the election process as a success as he prepares to leave for Washington, D.C., to serve as Wyoming’s sole representative in the House of Representatives starting in January.

The election division reported 130 candidates ran in the general election. The breakdown included 83 Republicans, 35 Democrats, five Libertarians, one Independent, and six Constitution Party candidates. Rebecca Bextel represented the Constitution Party in the race for governor.

Bextel received 16.7% of the ballots cast in the gubernatorial race. State law requires a candidate to receive at least 10% of the vote in a race for governor, U.S. Senate, or secretary of state to secure major party status for their party. Bextel met this requirement. County clerks must now prepare ballots that include the Constitution Party alongside the Democratic and Republican parties for the 2028 primary.

No statewide candidates won their seats through write-in votes. The election division also reported that no statewide or legislative candidates requested a recount. No county had conducted a mandatory recount by the time the state board convened.

A total of 191,713 Wyoming residents cast ballots in the general election. The election division estimates the voting-age population at 461,419. This calculation places turnout at 41.5% of those eligible to vote. Gray noted at the start of the meeting that this represented a high voter turnout compared to previous midterm elections.

The number of ballots cast on Election Day exceeded the totals from the 2014 and 2010 midterms. However, the election division identified this year as the second lowest voting-age population turnout since 1978, when the office began tracking this metric. The lowest recorded turnout occurred in 2014 at 38.5%. The 2010 midterm saw a 48.3% turnout.

Treasurer Curt Meier addressed the turnout figures during the meeting. He stated that lower participation is not surprising given the absence of a presidential race on the ticket. Meier expressed a desire for higher participation in future off-year elections.

Meier called for unity among residents to address local and national issues. He urged citizens to work together to move the state forward. “I’d just like to say, we need to continue to get voter turnout in this off year,” Meier said. “I think that’s something we need to strive for. Now’s the time for unity and realize there's a lot that we can do for our neighbors, for our state and for our nation. I just hope that we all basically get in the boat, get the oars in the water and go in the same direction, that’s forward.”

Two minor technical issues occurred on Election Day, both of which were resolved at the county level. In Park County, phone lines went down, prompting officials to alert the public to alternative contact methods for county offices. At Arapahoe Charter High School in Fremont County, a brief network outage occurred before the polls opened at 7 a.m. The issue was resolved by 8:15 a.m., and staff used backup poll books during the downtime.

County clerks are currently conducting a 5% hand-count audit of ballots. The Legislature passed a bill this year mandating these audits for both primary and general elections following concerns about machine tabulators. The deadline for the audit is nine days after the county canvass. For most counties, this deadline falls on November 14 or November 15. In the 2026 state primaries, audits in Wyoming counties, including Albany County, confirmed the machine tabulator numbers.