About two-thirds of counties expected to release all results in first vote updates
Wyoming voters will elect leaders for federal, state and other offices in Tuesday’s midterm election. Polls close at 7 p.m. local time, which is 9 p.m. Eastern.
The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in races for U.S. Senate, governor, U.S. House, secretary of state, a statewide ballot measure, state Senate, state House and state superintendent of public instruction.
The procedural ground rules of election night — when polls close, how counties release their tallies and what triggers a recount — set the pace at which the night’s outcomes become clear. The AP laid out the details in a preview of what its decision team will monitor as votes are tallied.
The last midterm offers a turnout benchmark. About 183,000 votes were cast in Wyoming’s 2022 race for governor, according to the AP, and early or absentee ballots accounted for about 36% of all ballots cast in that election. The AP’s advance vote tracker carries the latest advance vote totals ahead of Election Day.
How fast results arrive depends on how counties release them. About two-thirds of Wyoming counties are expected to release all of their vote results in the first vote updates, regardless of vote type.
Laramie County, which has the state’s highest population, expects to release at least half of its in-person Election Day vote results before releasing any results from absentee voting.
The 2024 general election offers a timetable for how the count unfolded last cycle. The first results were reported starting at 9:43 p.m. Eastern, 43 minutes after polls closed. Wyoming reached 50% of votes reporting at 11:57 p.m., and 90% of votes reporting at 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 6.
The AP does not make projections. The news agency declares a winner only when it determines there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory, while making clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explaining why.
Recounts in Wyoming are automatic if the vote margin is less than 1% of the votes cast for the leading candidate. Candidates may also request a recount. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine that the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.