New Misconduct Claims Put Weston County Clerk Back under the Governor’s Microscope

Gov. Mark Gordon says his office has received a fresh batch of verified complaints against Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock — less than six months after he declined to remove her from office over mistakes in the 2024 general election, Gillette News Record reports.

In a statement Monday, the governor confirmed that Weston County residents Karen Drost, Stanley Jasinski, Susan Love and Allen Slagle filed new allegations. They accuse Hadlock of submitting a false post-election audit following the 2024 General Election and defying a legislative subpoena from the Wyoming Legislature’s Management Audit Committee — acts that could violate state law.

Back in May, Gordon concluded Hadlock had made “serious mistakes” running the 2024 election but said her actions didn’t meet the legal threshold of “willful negligence” or “malicious intent,” which would justify removal. Wyoming law requires the governor to review any verified complaints and investigate before deciding whether to pursue formal removal proceedings. Gordon’s office said it will now examine the new claims and determine next steps, stressing that “given the very serious nature of the potential consequences, which is the removal of an official duly elected by the voters of Weston County, preserving the objectivity and integrity of this process is crucial.” The governor said he won’t comment further while the review is underway.

Drost’s filing argues the latest allegations weren’t considered in the first inquiry. She points specifically to the “filing of a false post-election audit with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office” and Hadlock’s refusal to comply with a subpoena from the Management Audit Committee. Drost says those acts, along with other issues tied to administering the 2024 election, amount to “misconduct and/or malfeasance in office,” whether willful or not. As a qualified elector, she writes that she’s lost confidence in the clerk’s ability to do the job and fears ongoing damage to public trust, the accuracy of reported results, and the county’s ability to run the 2026 election.

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray separately urged the governor to act, noting that Hadlock “defied a subpoena” to appear before lawmakers at a Sept. 29 hearing on her conduct and that the session also scrutinized “Clerk Hadlock’s false post-election audit after the clerk’s original ballot misalignment error was identified.” Gray criticized the earlier review for not weighing the audit allegation and said he hopes Gordon will now address both the subpoena issue and the audit claim in considering the new complaints.

Hadlock has not publicly responded to the latest accusations.