Gordon refuses to sign new voter registration rules

CHEYENNE — Gov. Mark Gordon has decided the new voter registration rules proposed by Secretary of State Chuck Gray exceed his statutory authority.

Gordon sided with the Wyoming Legislature’s Management Council — made up of legislative leadership from both chambers — in its disapproval of the new rules, which would have required people to provide proof of residency, not just identity, when registering to vote.

Gray has said on multiple occasions, including an op-ed submitted to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle this week that Wyoming elections needed to be protected “from fraud and guarantee that no vote from an eligible voter is diluted by that of an illegal alien or nonresident ineligible to vote.”

In his letter to Gray, Gordon said he received notice from the Management Council on March 28, asking him to either amend or rescind the proposed rule package “to address the concerns raised in the Legislative Service Office’s February 21, 2024 rule review memo.”

Under Wyoming statute, the governor had until Friday to sign or reject the new rules.

“The State’s election code functions well, and the countless hours spent by volunteers, election judges, canvassing boards, county clerks, town clerks, your office, and numerous others have ensured for decades that Wyomingites can trust the state’s election results,” Gordon said in the letter to Gray. “While there may always be room to improve Wyoming’s election laws, this responsibility lies in the purview of the legislative branch.”

The governor said he agreed with Gray that only Wyoming residents should participate in

the state’s elections.

However, Gordon noted that current data gives no indication that the state’s election system is under significant threat of voter fraud, or is without the ability to investigate and verify voter qualifications.

The Heritage Foundation has only recorded three cases of voter fraud in Wyoming since 2000.

Gray didn’t waste any time in responding to the governor’s refusal to implement the new voter registration rules.

The secretary of state argued the “rules undertook a thorough vetting process” and “received overwhelming support from the people of Wyoming.”

“As I indicated during our meeting with the Governor, our office has worked with county clerks on this very issue just last year,” Gray stated in the release. “These rules were a commonsense solution to stopping voter fraud in Wyoming.”

The reasons for conflict

Gray filed notice of a new voter registration rule on Dec. 7 that would have required a registered voter’s residential address to match the address listed on their valid Wyoming driver’s license or state-issued ID card.

The County Clerks’ Association of Wyoming (CCAW) sent a memo to the Secretary of State’s Office on Jan. 8 that outlined five statutory concerns with the new voter registration rules.

According to the memo, these provisions required clerks to perform duties outside of their statutory scope, such as verifying a voter’s residency. Clerks also cannot require an establishment of residency without challenge.

Under current Wyoming statute, county clerks are provided the authority to “investigate qualifications of any voter registration, when (they have) reasonable cause to believe that the voter may be unqualified.” Only proof of identity is compulsory.

In his letter to Gray, Gordon also urged the Legislature — more specifically, the Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee — to clarify the term “bona fide resident” that is in current Wyoming statute.

This was a concern brought up by the CCAW in a memo sent to this committee last August, first obtained by WyoFile.

“Until the legislature provides more explicit rulemaking authority for the Secretary of State, county clerks must follow the methods for investigating and challenging voters’ citizenship and registration outlined in statute,” Gordon stated in the letter.

“While I support addressing the county clerks’ concerns, assuming the worst when experience shows that our system continues to be effective at preventing voter fraud does not support upending a decades long practice. We can always improve, and that discussion properly lies with the Legislature.”

This story was published on April 13, 2024.