NEWCASTLE : With less than three weeks remaining before Wyoming’s August 18 primary election, Weston County finds itself in the crosshairs of an unprecedented constitutional and administrative crisis. What began months ago as a criminal investigation into local election records has escalated into a complete collapse of leadership in the Weston County Clerk’s Office, leaving serious questions about how votes will be cast, tested, and tabulated in the upcoming primary.
On Tuesday, July 28, interim Weston County Clerk J. Michael Tooman submitted his resignation after just 54 days in office. Tooman, a former election judge and systems architect, was appointed by District Judge Matthew Castano on June 4 to restore public trust following the felony arrest and resignation of former Clerk Becky Hadlock in April.
However, Tooman’s brief tenure was defined by severe internal dysfunction. According to local officials, Tooman encountered a hostile working environment upon entering the courthouse, where existing office staff refused to assist him in learning and executing the technical operations of the county’s electronic voting tabulators. Faced with mandatory testing deadlines, Tooman brought in an experienced, independent election judge from the community to help navigate and verify the voting equipment.
That decision rapidly turned into a political flashpoint. The spark that ignited Tooman’s resignation came directly from local party opposition. The Chairman of the Weston County Democratic Party publicly leveled online allegations against Tooman, accusing him of compromising election security and fixing the voting tabulators by bringing in outside assistance.
The online accusations metastasized over the weekend into public protests outside the courthouse. Citing the desire not to become a distraction from the election itself, Tooman stepped down on Tuesday, July 28. With Tooman’s departure, control of the county’s election machinery has reverted back to Deputy Clerk Amber Green.
The dynamic creates a significant conflict of interest: Green served as deputy under Hadlock, was passed over by the local GOP central committee during the nomination process in May, and is actively on the primary ballot running for County Clerk.
The fallout in Newcastle extends far beyond local courthouse politics; it triggers a hard legal deadline under Wyoming law. Under Wyoming Statute § 22-11-104(b)(iii), all county election offices must publicly perform and certify Logic & Accuracy (L&A) testing on every electronic voting tabulator at least two weeks prior to an election. For the 2026 primary, that statutory deadline is Tuesday, August 4.
Furthermore, state law requires a mandatory 48-hour public notice before L&A testing can begin. This means the Weston County Clerk’s Office must publish an official notice by Sunday, August 2, at the absolute latest. With no sworn county clerk, a candidate on the ballot in charge of the office, and staff who previously declined to operate the equipment, serious doubts remain over whether Weston County can lawfully execute and certify machine testing by Tuesday.
Wyoming law is explicit regarding uncertified equipment. Under W.S. § 22-11-104(c), no voting machine may be utilized in any election unless it strictly fulfills statutory testing and preparation requirements. If Weston County misses or fails the August 4 deadline, the county cannot legally use its electronic tabulators. By statutory default, election workers would be required to conduct a 100% manual hand count of all paper ballots under direct state oversight.
The administrative turmoil in Newcastle is drawing sharp concern from neighboring counties, particularly Crook County, which shares key legislative districts with Weston. In Senate District 1, total primary votes are divided among three counties: Crook County at 45.6%, Campbell County at 37.5%, and Weston County at 17.0%.
In a region where legislative primaries are regularly decided by narrow margins, and where House District 2 was decided by just 12 votes in 2022, a compromised or uncertified tally from Weston County’s 17% vote share could alter representation for the entire district.
As the August 4 deadline looms, the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office faces growing calls from regional party leadership to dispatch physical monitors to Newcastle to oversee ballot custody and enforce statutory compliance. Whether Weston County tabulates by machine or by hand, the eyes of Eastern Wyoming remain fixed on the courthouse in Newcastle.