Wyoming bears all the hallmarks of a “red state.” Its executive offices and legislature are dominated by Republicans, and Donald Trump won it by more than 40 points in the last three presidential elections.
But like many “red states” in America today, Wyoming’s Republican rule is in many ways a mirage. So-called “Republican” elected officials have often gone out of their way to stifle and kill conservative priorities.
The state’s recently concluded budget session perfectly illustrates this problem.
Despite Republicans possessing supermajorities in the state House (56-6) and Senate (29-2), the House rejected six bills containing provisions long supported by election integrity activists and the Wyoming Freedom Caucus (WYFC), which holds a governing majority in the chamber. According to local media, these measures would have prohibited the use of ballot drop boxes, restricted ballot harvesting, “required random ballot hand count audits, directed counties to use pen and paper ballots, expanded poll watcher access and raised the bar for independent candidates to appear on the general election ballot.”