Wyoming’s Five Elected Leaders and the Board That Ties Them Together

Most Wyomingites know we elect a Governor. Fewer know that Wyoming also separately elects a Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. All five of those offices are on the ballot this August 18.

Here’s the quick version of what each one does:

Governor — chief executive, sets the budget, signs legislation, appoints agency heads.

Secretary of State — runs elections, registers businesses, certifies official state records.

State Auditor — chief accountant for state government, keeps the books honest.

State Treasurer — manages Wyoming’s cash and investments, stewards the permanent trust funds.

Superintendent of Public Instruction — oversees K-12 education statewide, enforces the Wyoming Education Code.

Five different jobs who share one big responsibility:

These same five officials sit together as the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB), a body that controls Wyoming’s permanent funds, including the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund, and administers grant and loan programs that send money to cities, towns, and counties for infrastructure, community development, and economic growth. They also sit together as the Board of Land Commissioners, managing the 4.2 million acres the federal government granted Wyoming at statehood, land held in trust specifically to fund public schools and state institutions.

In other words, the people you elect to run elections, balance the books, and oversee kindergarteners are also the same people deciding how billions in state wealth get invested and which Wyoming communities get funded.

That’s worth understanding before you vote.