(Cheyenne, WY) – A debate over proposed changes to Wyoming’s election laws took a notable turn as several controversial bills failed to be introduced on the first day of the 2026 Legislative Session on Monday, drawing reactions from both election reform supporters and critics.
Among measures that did not proceed on Feb. 9 were six bills that would have enacted significant changes to how elections are run in Wyoming, including proposals affecting ballot drop boxes, voting methods, audits, and absentee ballot delivery. These included:
- HB 0048 – Pen and paper ballots
- HB 0049 – Ballot drop boxes prohibition
- HB 0050 – Ballot harvesting-prohibition
- HB 0051 – Random hand-count audits of election results
- HB 0053 – Poll watchers/polling station observation
- HB 0054 – Independent candidate requirements
On Monday, each of these proposed measures failed to achieve a two-thirds majority vote required for introduction.
These policies accounted for the majority of a slate of election proposals that Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray previously highlighted as his priorities for the 2026 session.
“I am extremely disappointed that a small minority of Democrats and insiders have chosen to kill common-sense, conservative election integrity reforms that the people of Wyoming want. Requiring pen and paper ballots, banning ballot harvesting, and banning ballot drop boxes, and strengthening Wyoming’s Voter ID statute are key to implementing President Trump’s Election integrity work and specifically President Trump’s election integrity Executive Order Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections. To see insiders team up with the Democrats to stop these conservative bills backed by the people is deeply troubling and revealing,” Gray said in a statement
This morning, Secretary Gray testified before the United States Congress Committee on House Administration in favor of the Make Elections Great Again Act.
League of Women Voters Opposition
In a recent appearance on Lander’s KOVE-AM radio, League of Women Voters of Wyoming President Linda Barton reaffirmed the League’s opposition to many of the proposed changes, saying there is no evidence of widespread election fraud in Wyoming and warning that added regulations would make it “harder for eligible, law-abiding Wyoming citizens to vote.”
Barton specifically opposed restrictions on ballot drop boxes, limits on third-party delivery of absentee ballots, mandates to abandon current voting machines, and expanded hand-count audits, saying these measures could disproportionately affect seniors, shift workers, rural residents, and people with disabilities.
Barton also noted the League’s efforts to understand current voter roll maintenance – including automatic purging of voters who haven’t participated in recent elections – and urged residents to confirm their registration ahead of November.
While these high-profile election bills did not clear initial introduction, lawmakers may revisit the issue in future committee work or later in the session, and related proposals could still emerge.