Gray attacks Gordon, talks desires for election code changes at town hall in Dayton
SHERIDAN — Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray had Gov. Mark Gordon squarely in his crosshairs Friday afternoon.
Gray also touted his push for election reform during his latest town hall in Dayton.
As Gray weighs which office to run for in 2026, he told the roughly 40 people in attendance Friday he plans to publish a poll showing he’d have a substantial lead in races for either Wyoming governor or the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A poll he posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, showed Gray ahead of various Wyoming politicians, including Sen. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, Senate President Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, and State Treasurer Curt Meier, among several others.
Cheyenne Republican Joseph Kibler has announced a bid for governor and former U.S. Senate candidate Reid Rasner has filed a campaign finance account for a gubernatorial race, though he has not yet announced his candidacy.
Attacks on Gordon
Gray and Gordon have clashed several times, including when the two went back and forth during a State Board of Land Commissioners meeting in June. In the weeks preceding the meeting, the two swapped attacks on social media and in newsletters.
Gray’s attacks on the state’s top elected official continued during his town hall Friday.
In April 2024, Gordon rejected Gray’s rules proposal to add proof of residency to Wyoming’s requirements when registering to vote. In a letter describing his decision, Gordon said the proposal was outside Gray’s authority.
The same day, President Donald Trump — then a presidential candidate — and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, announced the SAVE Act, which was aimed at preventing noncitizens from voting in federal elections; it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote.
“Think about this juxtaposition, how liberal and out of touch and weak this governor is, where you had him vetoing proof of residency for registering to vote, strengthening our citizenship procedures. Just as President Trump was saying that the No. 1 priority of this election integrity priority of his (2024) campaign was the very same thing that Gordon literally vetoed at the same moment,” Gray said.
Michael Pearlman, Gordon’s communications director, described the governor’s decision to veto the rule about 16 months ago.
“The Governor's decision to not sign the Secretary's proposed election rules (more than a year ago now) was because the Governor recognized that the Legislature did not give him that rulemaking authority, a viewpoint that was shared by the Legislative Service Office,” Pearlman wrote in an email to The Sheridan Press.
Gordon allowed a proof of citizenship requirement to become law without his signature following the legislature’s general session. The law requires an attestation that a voter has lived in the state for at least 30 days before casting a ballot.
Several times throughout his town hall, Gray referred to Gordon as a “liberal” and a “leftist ally,” among other descriptors typically associated with Democrats and progressives. Gray specifically took issue with Gordon’s approach to energy, which has historically included Wyoming’s legacy industries of oil, gas and coal, as well as solar and wind energy.
“They know that they have a leftist ally in Mark Gordon,” Gray said.
Pearlman said Gordon’s focus remains on promoting the state’s core industries, improving access to mental health care, workforce development and educational opportunities.
“This is old news and the same tired lines of attack, mischaracterizations and name calling the Secretary continues to use while he seeks attention as he eyes election to a higher office,” Pearlman wrote in an email to The Sheridan Press.
Election reform
In the 2025 general session, lawmakers filed 45 election-related bills.
The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Corporations Committee is set to review as many as 10 bills related to elections during its meeting Friday morning. Gray said he requested 20 bills to be drafted before the legislature’s 2026 budget session. The bills are another attempt at passing election reform that was killed or died during the legislature’s 2025 general session.
Bills set for consideration Friday would ban ballot drop boxes, update election audit and recount requirements and require paper ballots, among other things.
The 10 bills, Gray said, will help improve Wyoming’s election security.
Two people in Cheyenne were charged with false voting under Wyoming Statute 22-26-106(a)(i) earlier this year, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Both people were ineligible to vote due to prior felony convictions. One was fined $720 after pleading guilty, and charges against the other individual were dismissed.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, notes four other instances of voter fraud in Wyoming between 1982 and 2025.
Gray specifically touted the ban on ballot drop boxes and the requirement for paper ballots during his town hall.
“Drop boxes break the chain of custody,” Gray said.
Ahead of the 2024 election cycle, Gray wrote in a statement he doesn’t believe drop boxes are a safe, secure or statutory method for absentee voting.
Shortly after Gray’s statement, the County Clerks’ Association of Wyoming issued a response indicating its interpretation of whether ballot drop boxes are allowed would remain the same in lieu of judicial interpretation or clarity offered by lawmakers. The statement also said it is typical of the election code to allow the state’s county clerks and other local elected officials to make decisions that best reflect their constituencies’ desires.
“We hold that the use of ballot drop boxes as a method of ballot delivery is safe, secure and statutorily authorized,” the statement read.
Gray told those in attendance he’s trying to get Attorney General Keith Kautz to file a lawsuit aimed at preventing counties from using ballot drop boxes.
“I haven’t been successful yet, but we would have to get some sort of injunction to do that,” Gray said. “... Absent that, we need to do the explicit ban that’s on the table (this) week.”
Gray did not answer a question from The Sheridan Press about requiring paper ballots.
This story was published on August 11, 2025.