Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Wyoming
|
| Wyoming overview: • Election dates: On cycle |
| Key policies: • Election dates and timing • Party labels on the ballot |
| Key terms • On-cycle elections • Off-cycle elections • Off-year elections • Off-date elections • Party labels • Partisan elections • Nonpartisan elections |
School board general elections in Wyoming are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-102
There were 48 public school districts in Wyoming with a total of 332 school board member seats as of 2023. Those school districts operated a total of 347 schools serving 94,234 students.
You will find the following information on this page:
- the timing and frequency of school board elections
- candidate filing deadlines
- the number of school board members
- the length of school board terms
- the way in which elections for different board seats are staggered
- how Wyoming compares to other states
- when new board members officially take office.
Across the country, there are 13,024 public school districts governed by a total of about 82,600 board members. Most school board members are elected directly by voters, while a small number of districts have appointed school board members or a combination of appointed and elected school board members.
The timing of elections for school board members varies widely across states and even across districts in the same state in some cases. In 14 states, most school board elections are held on-cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years. Most school board elections in the other states are held off-cycle. This includes off-date elections—for example, elections held in the spring or summer—and off-year elections held in odd-numbered years.
On-cycle local elections have higher voter turnout than off-cycle local elections.
The information in this page was last updated in 2022. Please email editor@ballotpedia.org with any updates, corrections, exceptions, or improvements.
Election dates and frequency
School board general elections in Wyoming are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-102
Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: August 25, 2026
- General election date: November 3, 2026
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
The deadline for school board candidates to file an application for election to be nominated is 70 days before the election. The filing window for school board candidates is 20 days long.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-202
School board candidates can file an application for election to be nominated beginning when the filing window opens 90 days before the election.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-202
Newly elected school board members must take the oath of office ten days after receiving notification of their election. They officially take office at noon on the first day of December following the election.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 21-6-215
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Wyoming are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-102
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Wyoming are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Wyoming Statute states that there must be a nonpartisan ballot containing school board elections as well as judge and magistrate retention elections, municipal office elections, community college trustee elections, special district director elections, county subdivision office elections, and ballot measures.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-6-125
What it takes to win an election
The school board candidates that receive the largest number of votes in the nonpartisan general election are elected to office.
See law: Wyoming Statute Title 22
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
School boards can have five, seven, or nine members.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 21-3-106
Board member term lengths
School board members are elected to four-year terms at regular elections.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 21-6-215
School board member election staggering
State law requires that not more than a simple majority (50% + 1) of board members can be elected at any regular election. Because school board members have four-year terms, and school board elections are held every two years in each district, this means that as close to half of school board members as possible are elected every two years.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 22-22-102
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
All school board members are elected at large by voters from the entire district. The school board can pass a resolution to establish residence areas (sub-districts) for some school board seats. If the school board establishes sub-districts, two or more school board seats must remain elected at large without candidate residency requirements. Candidates for the other seats can be required to reside within one of the established sub-districts. School boards must pass resolutions abolishing all residence areas by January 1 of a general election year. School boards can only pass resolutions establishing residence areas for some school board seats as of January 1 of the first general election year following a decennial federal census.
See law: Wyoming Statute Section 21-3-109
How does Wyoming compare to other states?
Across the country, there are 13,187 public school districts governed by a total of 83,183 school board members. They are elected directly by voters except for a small handful of exceptions who are appointed.
The analysis below is based on state laws governing school board elections and some researched common practices. In some states, the state law mandates a specific date. In others, the laws allow districts to choose their own election date from a range or a list of allowed dates or through charter provisions.
- 25 states have school board elections that are mostly held off cycle from federal elections. This includes both off-year and off-date elections.
- 10 of those states have school board elections that are mostly or at least commonly held on election dates in November of odd-numbered years.
- 16 of those states have school board elections mostly or at least commonly held on election dates that are not in November.
- 14 states have school board elections that are mostly held on cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years.
- 9 states either do not have state laws or overwhelmingly common practices that determine a specific school board election date or have varying school board election dates.
- Hawaii has a single, appointed school board.
See also
|
School board election rules: |
School board election coverage: |
Terms and context: |
| |||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Footnotes
