Weston County clerk quits one day after felony arrest on election-related charges

Weston County’s clerk of seven years resigned Thursday, one day after she was arrested and charged with two felonies, the chair of the local Republican Party, Kari Drost, has confirmed. Becky Hadlock’s resignation averts a civil trial that had been set for Monday, in which the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office sought to prove to a jury that she committed misconduct or malfeasance in office and should be removed from her post. Her attorney Ryan Semerad declined to comment on the resignation but said, “I look forward to fighting back against the criminal charges filed against her.”

Hadlock was arrested and booked into the Weston County Detention Center late Wednesday morning. She made bond on her own recognizance roughly two hours later and was freed. Her felony elections violation case is still ongoing. Weston County Commission Chair Nathan Todd said the commission will hold a special meeting Tuesday to accept the resignation.

In the 2024 general election in Weston County, faulty ballots from a third-party printer intermingled into the election, skewing the results of two unopposed races: one was the legislative race of House Speaker Chip Neiman, and the other was a county commission race in which the number of contenders matched the number of open seats. Hadlock filed a post-election audit with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office in which she reported no errors on a 75-ballot sample. A later redo of that audit revealed 21 flawed ballots, court documents say.

Secretary of State Chuck Gray repeatedly announced at legislative committee meetings that he believed Hadlock either lied about performing the audit or lied about its results. A group of Weston County electors, including Drost, asked Gov. Mark Gordon to investigate Hadlock for misconduct or malfeasance in office, but they didn’t include complaints about the audit. Gordon declined last May, saying her conduct didn’t rise to the level required for a civil removal case.

The Legislature’s Management Audit Committee formed a subcommittee to investigate the 2024 election, and committee Chair Chris Knapp subpoenaed Hadlock to appear at a Sept. 29 meeting. When she didn’t show, the committee reported her, and the Natrona County District Attorney’s Office later charged her with skipping a legislative subpoena—a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and $100 in fines. That case is ongoing in Casper Circuit Court.

Meanwhile, a group of Weston County electors filed new complaints, this time including the audit issue. Gordon recommended her removal in January, and Attorney General Keith Kautz filed a civil complaint for her removal in February. On Wednesday, special prosecutor and Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen filed the two-count felony case against Hadlock in Newcastle Circuit Court, alleging she violated the election code as an official and falsified election documents. Each felony is punishable by up to five years and $10,000 in fines.

The affidavit in the felony case says DCI Special Agent Matt Waldock wrote that the Secretary of State’s office had emailed all Wyoming county clerks with detailed instructions on conducting post-election audits. Drost told agents that during an election judge training session, Hadlock had called post-election audits “stupid” and said she didn’t know why she needed to perform them. Deputy Clerk Amber Green confirmed she heard the statement and said she helped Hadlock with the audit, never observing the ballot image. The investigation revealed Hadlock “knowingly” filed a false post-election audit, the affidavit alleges.