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Elections in our country have become an all-out war. You have activists pouring money into local races all over the country to boost the left’s preferred candidates.
People are switching parties to vote in Republican primaries to push the lesser candidate over the line, hoping that the Democrat will win in the general election.
Wyoming is taking steps to stop the latter practice which is called “crossover voting.”
House Bill 103 was passed by the Wyoming legislature earlier this month and became law without the signature of Governor Mark Gordon.
The governor did not sign the bill because he believed it “adds uncertainty to the voting process.”
The bill reads:
“For a primary election, an elector may declare or change party affiliation by completing an application signed before a notarial officer or election official and filing it with the county clerk before the first day on which an application for nomination may be filed under W.S. 22‑5‑209.”
“For a general election, an elector may declare or change his party affiliation by completing an application signed before a notarial officer or election official, and filing it with the county clerk after the primary election and not less than fourteen (14) days before the primary general election or at the polls on the day of the primary or general election, or when requesting an absentee ballot for the general election.”
The governor wrote in a letter to House Speaker Albert Sommers, “What was delivered to my desk has ambiguity with the potential to deny participation in a major political primary election in a few limited circumstances.”
He added that the changes “will cause some confusion in the coming primary.”
It may be a little confusing, but hopefully, the people who should legitimately vote in the primaries will understand how it works and register accordingly.
It’s unfortunate that some people try to cheat the system and make things more difficult for everyone else.
Democrat Representative Karlee Provenza has come out to criticize the law calling it voter suppression, a favorite talking point of Dems.
She said, “If Republican lawmakers want to suppress your right to vote in the election of your choosing, then gut their party votes of conservative committee seats.”
Republican Chairwoman Mary Martin of Teton County, Wyoming, denied Provenza’s claim saying, “It’s not banning people from voting for a different party person.”
“Ultimately, it is just making sure parties have the opportunity to work within their group to put their best candidates forward,” she added.
A couple of years ago, a group in Florida put forth an Open Primary Initiative intending to amend the Florida Constitution to allow voters who are not formally affiliated with a political party to vote in its primary.
It would also allow a voter to “declare his or her affiliation with a party at the polls on the day of the primary even if the voter was previously affiliated with a different party.”
The initiative was withdrawn in May 2019 keeping Florida a closed primary state. There are currently 14 states with open primaries.
