Crossover voting bill becomes law

Swapping your party affiliation from Republican to Democrat or vice versa on the day of an election will no longer be possible in Wyoming.

HB 103 took effect last week without the signature of Governor Mark Gordon, who felt the legislation may cause confusion for voters but was not sufficiently flawed to merit a veto.

Voters looking to register with a party, whether for the first time or to change their affiliation, will now need to do so before nominations open for the next primary election.

Requesting a major party ballot constitutes a declaration of party affiliation.

For a general election, the new law states that you must declare or change your affiliation by completing an application signed before a notary and filing it with the county clerk during the period after the primary election and up to 14 days before the general election.

You may also do so at the polls on the day of a general election, or when requesting an absentee ballot for the general election.

The bill had a near super majority of support from the Legislature, having been resurrected at the eleventh hour.

Though it died on first hearing after being passed from the House to the Senate Corporations Committee, Senate Majority Floor Leader Larry Hicks made a motion to refer it to the Senate Revenue Committee, where it cleared the committee and made its way to the floor.

Both Representative Chip Neiman and Senator Ogden Driskill voted for the bill.

Governor Gordon, however, declined to give his signature to the bill. He expressed that he believes Republicans should vote in Republican primaries and Democrats should vote in Democratic primaries, as he stated in his 2022 State of the State address.

However, he wrote in a letter explaining his decision, “What was delivered to my desk has ambiguity with the potential to deny participation in a major party primary election in a few limited circumstances.”

Gordon noted that he has been assured this was not the intent and that those who will be responsible for implementing the statute have agreed to work on clarifying the legal ambiguity before the next primary.

“No matter what, the changes resulting from this adjustment to Wyoming law will cause some confusion in the coming primary,” he wrote.

“However, nearly 93% of Wyoming voters are now registered Republicans, making the presumed changes perhaps more academic than real.”

Gordon urged voters to learn about the changes before the 2024 elections so as to be sure they may vote their desired major party ballot at that time.