{"id":2405072,"date":"2025-02-21T09:14:56","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T14:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wyoming-sees-flurry-of-election-integrity-bills-but-clock-is-ticking\/"},"modified":"2025-02-21T09:18:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T14:18:31","slug":"wyoming-sees-flurry-of-election-integrity-bills-but-clock-is-ticking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wyoming-sees-flurry-of-election-integrity-bills-but-clock-is-ticking\/","title":{"rendered":"Wyoming Sees Flurry Of Election Integrity Bills, But Clock Is Ticking"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwyoming-sees-flurry-of-election-integrity-bills-but-clock-is-ticking%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2405072&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In Wyoming, \u2063election integrity advocates have introduced numerous bills during <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">teh current legislative session aimed<\/a> at enhancing election\u200b security. Despite the Republican \u200dtrifecta in the state government, the fate of several crucial proposals remains uncertain,\u2062 with some bills stalled and facing potential veto \u200cfrom Governor Mark Gordon. \u200c <\/p>\n<p>Recently, the Wyoming House of Representatives passed \u200da comprehensive set of election security measures referred to as the &#8220;Election Integrity \u200cAgenda.&#8221; This package includes legislation for proper voter list\u2064 maintenance, a \u2064ban\u200b on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-house-passes-omnibus-election-reform-bill\/\" title=\"Georgia House Passes Omnibus Election Reform ...\">ranked choice voting<\/a>, and \u200ca prohibition\u2062 on foreign funding for ballot measures. Secretary\u2063 of\u2062 State Chuck Gray hailed the passage as a notable\u2064 step forward for election \u200dintegrity in the state, \u200drallying support for conservative election reforms that align with the \u200bpreferences of Wyoming constituents.<\/p>\n<p>Key\u2063 components of the agenda include measures to\u2063 increase\u2062 voter ID requirements, proof \u200bof citizenship for voter\u200d registration, and restrictions on ballot drop boxes and ballot harvesting. While some\u200c reforms have progressed,\u200d others have been met\u2062 with resistance, including a previous \u200bveto by Governor Gordon against required proof\u2064 of residency and citizenship to register.<\/p>\n<p>Several bills, including those banning private\u200c funding of elections,\u200d known as \u200c&#8221;Zuckbucks,&#8221; are still in the legislative pipeline but face time constraints within the short session. The success of these proposed reforms depends heavily on the actions of\u2063 Senate President Bo Biteman, as bills need to be assigned to committees to proceed. With critical deadlines approaching,\u200c Secretary \u2062gray expressed concern about the lack of movement on some \u200dproposals and the limited time\u2062 left for legislative action.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Wyoming election integrity warriors have been busy this legislative session, filing dozens of bills aimed at better securing the Cowboy State&rsquo;s elections. But despite Republicans holding the <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Party_control_of_Wyoming_state_government\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">trifecta<\/a> in state government, the prospects for passage for some key proposals remain murky, with bills either stuck in the Senate president&rsquo;s desk or facing the potential of Republican Gov. Mark Gordon&rsquo;s veto pen. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Wonderful Moment&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>The Wyoming House of Representatives passed the entire slate of bills from the <a href=\"https:\/\/sos.wyo.gov\/Media\/2025\/SoS_Release_2025-02-12.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Election Integrity Agenda<\/a>, an ambitious suite of pressing election security measures. On Feb. 12, the House <a href=\"https:\/\/sos.wyo.gov\/Media\/2025\/SoS_Release_2025-02-12.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/WY\/bill\/HB0318\/2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bill<\/a> ensuring proper voter list maintenance and clean voter rolls, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyoleg.gov\/Legislation\/2025\/HB0165\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proposal<\/a> banning ranked choice voting in Wyoming, and <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/WY\/bill\/HB0337\/2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">another<\/a> prohibiting foreign funding of ballot measures.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Secretary of State Chuck Gray called passage of the full conservative election integrity reform agenda a &ldquo;wonderful moment&rdquo; for Wyoming.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is so important that action has been taken to advance all of these conservative election integrity issues that the people of Wyoming want,&rdquo; Gray, a Republican, said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/sos.wyo.gov\/Media\/2025\/SoS_Release_2025-02-12.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release. <\/a>&ldquo;As the 2025 Legislative Session moves forward, I look forward to continuing to work with the Wyoming Legislature to achieve meaningful, conservative election integrity reform.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Other bills include bans on ballot drop boxes, ballot harvesting, and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/26\/the-incoming-congress-should-immediately-ban-zuckbucks-across-the-nation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;Zuckbucks<\/a>&rdquo; in Wyoming&rsquo;s elections, a stronger voter ID statute, and proof of citizenship and residency to register to vote. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyomingnews.com\/opinion\/guest_column\/gray-our-office-is-working-to-advance-election-integrity-agenda-for-upcoming-2025-general-session\/article_f006dcee-ca04-11ef-9522-c70c702218c9.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">column<\/a> earlier this year, Gray wrote that the election integrity agenda is an opportunity to forward President Trump&rsquo;s America First, conservative policy reforms in a state that <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/projects\/election-results-2024\/wyoming\/?r=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">overwhelmingly voted for Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview this week with The Federalist, Gray said the proof of citizenship and residency bills are &ldquo;near and dear to his heart.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Only Wyomingites and only citizens should be voting in Wyoming elections,&rdquo; the secretary said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/wyoleg.gov\/Legislation\/2025\/HB0157#:~:text=AN%20ACT%20relating%20to%20elections,providing%20for%20an%20effective%20date.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bill<\/a> requires proof of residency and U.S. citizenship at the time of registration. The citizenship side is patterned after the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/19\/the-save-act-could-hit-filibuster-wall-in-new-republican-led-senate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (Save Act)<\/a>. an <a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/652523\/americans-endorse-early-voting-voter-verification.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extremely popular <\/a>election law reform set to move in the Republican-controlled Congress. Election integrity deniers have attacked the bill with an array of falsehoods and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rstreet.org\/commentary\/no-the-save-act-is-not-designed-to-disenfranchise-women\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">red herrings<\/a>, including that it would disenfranchise millions of women who changed their names upon marriage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Really Disappointing&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Wyoming&rsquo;s version of the SAVE Act has faced resistance from the state&rsquo;s top-ranking Republican. Gov. Mark Gordon last year <a href=\"https:\/\/wyofile.com\/gov-gordon-rejects-secretary-of-state-grays-voter-residency-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vetoed<\/a> amendments to the secretary of state&rsquo;s election procedures requiring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.torringtontelegram.com\/stories\/gordon-vetoes-proof-of-residency,41781\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proof of residency <\/a>and citizenship to register to vote. Gray said the rules followed months of work with Wyoming&rsquo;s county clerks and other stakeholders.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As of Thursday, Gray&rsquo;s office said the bill continued to sit in the drawer of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyoleg.gov\/Legislators\/2025\/Senate\/2044\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Senate President Bo Biteman<\/a>, a Sheridan County Republican. Why? Gray said he didn&rsquo;t know. Biteman did not return a call from The Federalist seeking comment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really disappointing that these bills haven&rsquo;t been referred,&rdquo; the former lawmaker said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve known the senate president for a long time, since we entered the legislature. I tried to reach out and it&rsquo;s not clear.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Biteman did join other Senate Republicans earlier this month in<a href=\"https:\/\/891khol.org\/its-orwellian-bill-that-would-have-punished-helping-non-citizens-killed-on-the-senate-floor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> killing a bill<\/a> that would require law enforcement officials to check citizenship status during traffic stops and in issuing citations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Two bills strengthening Wyoming&rsquo;s voter ID laws have finally been referred to committees. One <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/WY\/bill\/HB0160\/2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">measure<\/a> would repeal the use of student ID cards as an acceptable form of identification for in-person voting. Another would repeal the use of Medicaid and Medicare insurance cards as IDs to vote.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyoleg.gov\/Legislation\/2025\/HB0206\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> House Bill 206<\/a> requires photo identification to vote; the insurance cards do not include photos.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Identification depends on recognition. If you want to identify somebody it is normal to use a photograph,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.powelltribune.com\/stories\/house-backing-bills-to-shrink-acceptable-voter-id-list,154212\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> Rep. Nina Webber, R-Cody, after House passage of the bill earlier this month. &ldquo;We recognize people by their faces. A Medicaid and Medicare card don&rsquo;t have that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Opponents of the bill insist, as they always do, that some voters would be disenfranchised, particularly senior citizens who apparently only possess a Medicare card to identify themselves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The only reason it passed was because there was a compromise made because there were several senior folks who were worried they were going to get disenfranchised. So, we stuck in this one sort of ID,&rdquo; Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.powelltribune.com\/stories\/house-backing-bills-to-shrink-acceptable-voter-id-list,154212\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said,<\/a> as quoted by the Powell Tribune. He was referring to a previous allowance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Clock is Ticking<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wyoleg.gov\/Legislation\/2025\/HB0238\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The bills <\/a>banning ballot harvesting and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-urge-dismissal-of-doj-lawsuit-against-georgia-election-law\/\" title=\"House ...s Urge Dismissal Of DOJ Lawsuit Against Georgia Election Law\">absentee ballot drop boxes<\/a> have picked up steam in the Senate and many of the record number of election integrity bills introduced remain in play, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.&nbsp; But the clock is ticking on the brief session.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A bill banning private funding in Wyoming&rsquo;s elections &mdash; commonly known as &ldquo;Zuckbucks&rdquo; &mdash; that passed with little opposition in the House, had barely moved in the Senate as of midweek. Wyoming would join <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Laws_governing_the_private_funding_of_elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">28 states<\/a> that prohibit private grants and other funding, which exploded in 2020 when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg contributed hundreds of millions of dollars for so-called safe election grants. Under the cover of Covid, the leftist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/18\/mark-zuckerbergs-350-million-in-election-funding-went-to-far-left-activists-not-nonpartisan-outfits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Tech &amp; Civic Life<\/a> distributed the grants, predominantly to leftist-led cities in swing states. Zuckbucks had a significant impact on the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/15\/trump-proved-rigged-elections-are-winnable-now-its-time-to-un-rig-them\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rigged 2020 election<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Time is running out in the swift-moving,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhfs.com\/insights\/alerts-articles\/2025\/what-to-expect-from-the-2025-wyoming-legislative-session#:~:text=Wyoming's%2067th%20Legislative%20Session%20begins,elected%20members%20and%20legislative%20leadership.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> 40-day legislative session<\/a>. Bills must be referred to a committee to have a chance on the floor. They must be reported out of committee in the second house by <a href=\"https:\/\/wyoleg.gov\/MediaRoomDocs\/2025%20Crossover%20News%20Release.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">next Thursday<\/a> to survive the session, and Friday is the last day for the committee of the whole. March 4 is the last day for final votes on bills in the second house to take up the legislation. The Senate president is <a href=\"https:\/\/wyoleg.gov\/2025\/Rules\/SenateRules.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">responsible <\/a>for moving each bill to appropriate senate committees.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I want to work with Sen. Biteman. We can work together to get this done, but we haven&rsquo;t heard anything and that is concerning,&rdquo; Gray said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"... Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top ... Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wyoming&#8217;s election integrity advocates are active this session, proposing numerous bills to enhance election security. However, despite Republican control, key proposals face uncertainty as some are stalled or may be vetoed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2405073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-20-at-11.40.42-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33399,32644,4762,5894,3630],"class_list":["post-2405072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-2024-elections","tag-election-integrity","tag-legislation","tag-politics","tag-wyoming"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-20-at-11.40.42-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2405072"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2405076,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405072\/revisions\/2405076"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2405073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2405072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2405072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2405072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}