Wyoming legislators say they’ll seek criminal charges against Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock after she failed to show up Monday for a subpoenaed appearance before a legislative subcommittee in Casper.
“This is a big violation,” said Sen. Dan Laursen (R-Powell) during the Weston County Clerk 2024 General Election Subcommittee meeting.
The panel operates under the Joint Management Audit Committee, whose chair, Rep. Chris Knapp (R-Gillette), issued the subpoena. According to lawmakers, Hadlock sent a letter saying she had a scheduling conflict and would not attend.
Skipping a legislative subpoena is a misdemeanor in Wyoming. If convicted, Hadlock could face up to a $100 fine and as much as six months in county jail. Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody) confirmed lawmakers intend to pursue charges over the no-show.
Hadlock has been under a microscope since the 2024 general election, when her office used the wrong ballots, producing an initial miscount. Early returns showed Rep. Chip Neiman with just 166 votes in House District 1 and an eye-popping 1,289 undervotes on that race — numbers that triggered an intervention by Secretary of State Chuck Gray and ultimately a hand count.
Even after the recount, some Weston County voters urged the Wyoming State Canvassing Board not to certify the results. The board unanimously certified anyway, while Gray promised a “more full analysis” of the clerk’s conduct.
A month later, eight Weston County voters filed a formal complaint with Gov. Mark Gordon’s office alleging “misconduct and malfeasance,” citing claims that Hadlock:
- ordered and used multiple ballot versions in the general election,
- improperly tested voting machines in the primary and general,
- used incorrect ballots that forced hand recounts, and
- caused a major undercount of votes.
Gray’s office released its own findings and recommended removing Hadlock from office, arguing her filing of a “false post-election audit” showed “repeated and heightened misconduct.”
But removal isn’t the governor’s call to make directly. Under Wyoming law, Gordon had to decide whether to recommend that the attorney general seek removal in district court. He declined to do so.
“Although I recognize that Clerk Hadlock made many serious mistakes in the 2024 Weston County elections, her actions do not rise to the level of misconduct or malfeasance,” Gordon wrote, adding he did not see “a clear path to proving guilt.”
With the governor opting against a removal push, lawmakers are now pursuing the criminal contempt route for the missed subpoena. Any prosecution would run through local authorities and the courts.
Hadlock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The original story by Maggie Mullen for WyoFile.
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