Gordon lets ‘far-reaching’ election bill go into law

CHEYENNE — The final bill waiting for consideration on Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk became law Friday after he let it pass without his signature.

House Bill 156 makes several changes to the ways elections are carried out in Wyoming. It requires voters to be Wyoming residents for no less than 30 days before an election, requires proof of residency and U.S. citizenship to register to vote, and requires county clerks to deny registration if there is “any indication” that the person is not a United States citizen.

Gordon said he agrees with allowing only U.S. citizens and Wyoming residents to vote in the state but expressed several concerns with the bill.

“Because I believe in adequate checks to ensure only qualified electors can vote, I am allowing this bill to become law despite the likelihood that it will invite litigation,” Gordon said in a statement Friday.

Gordon is concerned litigation may come from HB 156 clashing with the U.S. Constitution.

He wrote in his statement that the act’s residency requirement may interfere with its implementation. Federal statute provides that no citizen shall be subject to a residency requirement to vote in any election for president or vice president, which directly contradicts HB 156.

The Wyoming Constitution also requires a minimum age of 21, something that the U.S. Constitution overrides in the 26th Amendment as the supreme law of the land.

Gordon said in his statement that whether federal or state statute will prevail in a legal contest is a question that will have to be resolved in court.

The governor also took issue with the requirement for clerks to deny registration if there is “any indication” that the applicant is not an American citizen in their registration, calling this addition “far-reaching.”

“This standard may be difficult for clerks to administer, as it is unclear and perhaps awkward for our county clerks to consistently apply with any degree of certainty,” Gordon wrote.

He provided examples of how a bona fide resident and U.S. citizen may have well worn, sun-bleached or wrinkled identification cards, particularly among elderly Wyomingites.

“No doubt, it is up to the voter to make sure all their ‘papers’ are in order before they can vote, but still, I remain concerned that the vagueness of the language in this Act could lead clerks to either err on the side of over enforcement or under enforcement,” Gordon wrote.

Goshen County Clerk Mark Feagler told the WTE that it could be difficult to verify the truth of documents showing 30-day proof of residency.

“I believe firmly that people should be a U.S. citizen before they can vote, and that they should only be able to vote in one specific place,” Feagler said. “It’s the administration figuring out how to administer that and what will be done if somebody signs the oath (of 30-day residency) and it’s not true.”

Secretary of State Chuck Gray celebrated the passage of the bill into law, as it was one of his top priorities going into this year’s legislative session.

“Proof of citizenship and proof of residency for registering to vote are both so important. Only United States citizens, and only Wyomingites, should be voting in Wyoming elections. Period,” Gray said in a statement.

HB 156 makes Wyoming the first state in the nation to apply proof of citizenship for registering to vote for all elections. This was the first priority of Gray’s conservative election integrity reform agenda, which he published in December.

The bill passed the Wyoming House of Representatives 51-8 on third reading, and the Wyoming Senate 26-4 on third reading.

“Because this legislation adheres to neither the original construction of our Constitution nor federal law in its durational requirement, I cannot sign it as such,” Gordon wrote. “Because I believe this Act — although redundant — offers some useful improvements, I am letting this bill pass into law without my signature.”

The act will not become effective until July 1, and it will first apply to the 2026 primary election. Feagler said this will give her and other Wyoming county clerks more time to work out the best ways to verify proof of residency.

This story was published on March 22, 2025.