Wyoming
Chuck Gray Claims Press ‘Misleading’ Public Over Voter Residency Rules
Secretary of State Chuck Gray wasted no time accusing the press of misleading the public about his new proposed voter residency rules during a hearing at the State Capital on Friday.
“The media has published a number of articles with misleading statements that have caused confusion about what these rules do,” Gray said.
If finalized, the new rules would require people registering to vote in Wyoming to show an additional proof of residency if their identification doesn’t already show it.
Gray said it’s difficult to prove only Wyoming residents are voting in the state’s elections without this rule. Although Wyoming is overwhelmingly Republican and with very few issues of election fraud proven in the past, Gray said proving residency is pivotal to maintaining election integrity and voter security.
“One of the key questions that I hope to hear from you about today is whether that is just going to be a slogan that isn’t followed through upon, or whether it will be followed through upon with real teeth, which is what this rules does,” Gray told the audience.
There were about 100 people at Friday’s hearing and around 150 more watching live online. The majority of the public comments, in person and online, were in support of the proposed rules, many from prominent members of the Wyoming Republican Party.
Although the hearing was intended for the public to provide feedback on the proposed rules, at many instances the hearing devolved into a back-and-forth between members of the audience criticizing arguments made by others.
Illegals Voting?
Gray and many others also expressed concerns about illegal aliens voting in Wyoming elections. There have been no documented cases of this happening. Although Wyoming law already prohibits people in the country illegally to vote, Gray’s rules further clarify the point.
Laramie resident Paul Montoya and others said the recent influx of illegal immigration across the southern border should be a concern for Wyoming’s elections.
“We should be proactive in making sure there’s not a problem in Wyoming,” he said.
Sheridan political activist Gail Symons believes this is unfounded.
“The fears of mythical busses of out-of-state people showing up to register and vote is unsubstantiated both from a practical standpoint and the data,” she said.
Legislators Weigh In
There have been three cases of prosecuted election fraud since 2000 in Wyoming, according to the Heritage Foundation. Some who spoke at Friday’s hearing said they see this not as proof there’s no election fraud, but rather that Wyoming needs to tighten its voter requirements to test if more fraud is happening than what’s being reported and prosecuted.
State Reps. Tony Locke, R-Casper, and John Bear, R-Gillette, said they support the proposed rules and believe they will show if there is more election fraud in Wyoming than what is now known about.
“If we don’t know what the effect of not having these rules is, how can we possibly know whether the Legislature is going to enact statutes that will impact the voters?” Bear questioned.
A few from the public went further and made claims they know of people who are not Wyoming residents or American citizens who have successfully voted in Wyoming elections.
Overall, seven state legislators spoke at the hearing.
State Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, was the most critical of the lawmakers about the proposed rules, saying they subvert legislative authority.
Rep. Sandy Newsome, R-Cody, agreed with Case and said Gray doesn’t have authority to do what he wants to.
“The Legislature should pass laws, not the secretary of state,” she said.
Newsome also said she is “disappointed” that Gray is bringing his rule now, and that he never discussed the proposal in any of the legislative Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee’s interim meetings in 2023. She asked Gray to wait until a 30-day durational bill is addressed during the upcoming legislative session before enacting the rules.
“This is premature on your part,” she said.
Gray pushed back, saying he did bring up his proposal during the committee’s meeting in October.
Rep. Mark Jennings, R-Sheridan, also countered on Gray’s behalf and said the same people opposing the rules also support superfluous rulemaking in other agencies.
Clerks Don’t Support
Gray noted that he took four meetings with the state’s county clerks and sent extensive emails about the proposed rules before announcing them. Earlier this month, the clerks sent a memo expressing “significant concerns” about them.
Malcolm Ervin, Platte County clerk and president of the Wyoming County Clerks’ Association, spoke against the proposed rules Friday and said working with Gray on them isn’t an endorsement.
Although he admitted to Cowboy State Daily that Gray’s rules probably won’t impact a significant number of residents, Ervin said people would be surprised to learn how many people they will affect.
Teton County Clerk Maureen Murphy mentioned how many people in Teton County routinely change residences from year-to-year because of high housing prices in that area. She said the new rules would make it more difficult for these people to vote unless they lied about their residency.
Effort To Vote
Case also expressed concern the rules will suppress voter turnout. Specifically, he said some living on the Wind River Reservation, where many voters live a transient lifestyle, will have to clear significant hurdles to be able to vote. The rules also put new requirements on homeless people proving their residency.
“There’s a significant chance of harm but not much chance of benefit,” Case said.
Others supporting the rules said illegal voters “disenfranchise” the efforts of legal voters and that meeting the burden of proof to show one’s right to vote is a matter of self-responsibility, not for Gray to facilitate.
Saratoga resident Joey Correnti also said there’s nothing stopping voters rights groups from helping people prove their residency, and a few encouraged Gray to establish a robust informational campaign to inform voters about the changes being proposed less than 200 days before the primary election.
Cheyenne resident Richard Garrett encouraged Gray to consider senior citizens like his late mother, who would’ve been impacted by the new rules if she were still alive, and Ervin said his grandmother would be affected.
Gray said he will do so.
“We’re working to get that balance right, because it is a balance,” Gray said.
Ervin also worries that the rules aren’t being brought without enough time for county clerks to prepare for them in the upcoming elections, and that the changes could lead to much longer lines at polling places on Election Day.
One of the biggest concerns the clerks and others have raised about the rules is that they will require people who have a P.O. box listed on their IDs to supply an additional form of identification to prove residency. There are many driver’s licenses provided by the Wyoming Department of Transportation that only have a P.O. box listed as a form of address.
Gray said he will consider a revision to the rules that would limit them to only requiring an ID showing Wyoming residence. Ervin said the clerks would be more supportive of that.
“That would provide some advancement in ensuring only residents of the state of Wyoming can register to vote and provide a bridge to when WYDOT will be in compliance in statute,” Gray said.
But some of Gray’s supporters also urged him to push back on this, noting how proof of residency is required to get a P.O. box or a driver’s license in the first place.
Not Durational
Gray also blamed the media for its reporting of a separate legislative proposal he made last spring for a 30-day residency requirement with his proposed new rules, two measures he says are not connected.
“It’s caused a lot of this confusion what the media has reported,” Gray said.
In August, when the durational residency requirement proposal was first considered by the Corporations Committee, Ervin mentioned how the state has no laws proving definitive proof of residency and that the 30-day residency requirement wouldn’t resolve that.
“Without proof of residency to address the issue, there is still a huge hole in our state’s approach to residency,” Gray explained.
Under current law, only election judges can challenge a voter’s residency status in Wyoming.
Out-Of-Staters
A few who testified also wondered about out-of-state voters participating in Wyoming elections.
Rep. Scott Smith, R-Lingle, said he knows of “numerous” people who used out-of-state identifications to vote in the 2022 elections.
“I think that’s an important thing to stop,” he said.
It’s legal to use an out-of-state ID to vote in Wyoming, but this comes with a few stipulations. First, Wyoming law requires residents to notify WYDOT within 10 days when moving within the state. New residents have a year to get a license when moving to the state. Second, those registering to vote swear an oath that they are legal in-state residents.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at Leo@CowboyStateDaily.com.
Wyoming
Hoping to draw Colorado interest, construction begins at $80M betting facility in Laramie County
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Foundation work is beginning this week on Wyoming’s next horse betting and gaming house.
The $80 million Wyoming Downs facility in Laramie County, one of two the company is investing in over the next couple of years, is poised to be one of the largest facilities of its kind in the state. The company is aiming for a spring 2027 opening.
The facility will host upwards of 600 historic horse racing machines, Wyoming’s largest TV wall, multiple dining options and more across 58,000 square feet. More land was bought for future hotel development. Commuters driving between Cheyenne and the Colorado border can see clearly from Interstate 25 the expansive development.
That placement along the travel corridor is purposeful, Wyoming Downs and 307 Horse Racing President Kyle Ridgeway said.
“I think that the targeted consumer for this is from Colorado or from the Front Range,” Ridgeway said. “I anticipate we’re going to have plenty of people from Cheyenne come down here to play and enjoy the amenities, but when you look at 600,000 people within a 30-minute drive, that’s what justifies this investment and brings all that tax revenue in from another state, which is fantastic.
“We don’t get the opportunity to do that in Wyoming very often.”
There is still plenty to offer Cheyenne residents besides the facility’s amenities. Ridgeway said in a speech to attendees at the project’s groundbreaking Tuesday, June 2, that more than 150 permanent jobs will be supported by the facility on top of the dozens supported by the companies’ corporate offices and the 400-plus involved in the project’s construction.
Groathouse Construction, a Wyoming business, is the project’s general contractor. Wyoming Downs said it believes putting the project in local hands also helps keep the project uniquely Wyoming-focused.
Ridgeway added the facilities have already proven themselves to be effective tax revenue generators for the local governments. The Wyoming Gaming Commission’s 2025 report, released in late May, shows bettors wagered $2.49 billion on historic horse racing machines last year, a jump from the $2.11 billion wagered in 2024.
Wyoming Downs facilities generate roughly $25 million in taxes annually across the state, and Ridgeway estimated after the ceremony that the upcoming $80 million facility alone will generate an additional $3 million for Laramie County once the property has been in operation for a few years.
Horse betting sites have been increasingly popping up across Wyoming this decade. The Wyoming Downs location will be Cheyenne’s second large-scale horse betting facility since 2024, when the 30,000-square-foot Horse Palace at Swan Ranch opened. Ridgeway said Wyoming Downs is still offering something fresh for tourists and residents.
“This’ll have amenities that Swan Ranch doesn’t have, including the largest TV wall in Wyoming and a pretty super-cool sports viewing area with a restaurant and just a level of finish and class that I don’t think Wyoming has quite seen yet with these types of properties,” he said.
Ridgeway said he thinks resident fatigue with these facilities isn’t as strong as it appears, especially given the tourism benefits of off-track betting.
“Wyoming’s been built on mineral extraction and tourism, and what this is is a touristic facility. I’m not aware of any particular pushback about this specific facility outside of — you see random social media comments where people say, ‘Oh, another gambling facility.’ But where this is located, I think people in Cheyenne have generally been supportive of,” he said.
The Laramie County facility will be just one part of a larger project Wyoming Downs is working on over the next few years. Construction will begin in early 2027 on a similar facility in Evanston looking to draw in Utah and western Colorado crowds.
Some of the company’s current facilities, notably in Casper, Cheyenne and Rock Springs, will see millions poured into renovations as well. New smaller-scale parlors will also go up in Gillette and Green River this year, according to an information packet provided by the company.
More details will come as the construction process develops, Ridgeway said. Details about amenities, such as what the complex’s dining options will look like, remain undisclosed, though Ridgeway promised that options will be “excellent.”
“We haven’t made final selections on what the options are, but we have a number of different options on the table that we’re considering for what we want to offer for the customers,” Ridgeway said. “You have to have something that’s high quality for where this is located. If somebody’s going to drive 25 or 35, or even 45 minutes to come here, they got to be able to sit down and have a quality meal.”
For more information as it becomes available and to learn more about Wyoming Downs facilities and 307 Horse Racing‘s events and offerings, see the companies’ websites. Renderings for the upcoming Cheyenne facility commissioned by the company are available for viewing below.
Related
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Two of the Republican candidates for Wyoming governor, Megan Degenfelder and Brent Bien, went head to head in Campbell County this evening. They both highlighted differences in some areas but agreed on energy, public lands, government oversight, abortion and election security.
Degenfelder, Wyoming’s superintendent of public instruction, introduced herself as “a Wyoming ranch kid whose parents clawed their way into the middle class” and said she believes Wyoming is “worth fighting for” because she believes the Wyoming people’s lives are at stake.
Bien, a retired Marine Corps colonel and combat veteran, pointed to his military career and leadership experience.
“My whole adult life has been about leadership, about principled conservative leadership,” he said. “My objective is to restore principled conservative leadership, accountability and discipline to Cheyenne.”
Nuclear energy
Both candidates supported Wyoming’s role in energy production but opposed bringing outside nuclear waste into the state.
“I do not want Wyoming to be … the permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel. I will not allow that to happen on my watch,” Bien said.
Degenfelder said Wyoming should consider nuclear power as part of its energy future but added, “If it works for us to be able to have nuclear as part of the portfolio, then it has to be right for Wyoming and that is ensuring that we do not accept anyone else’s waste, period.”
Public lands
The candidates also opposed privatization of public lands.
“No one loves public lands more than I do,” Degenfelder said. “You start selling that to the highest bidder, Wyoming loses who we are.”
Bien said he is “absolutely opposed” to federal lands being sold to private interests.
“If they do decide to dispose of it, then we as the state of Wyoming should get first-right refusal at no cost,” he said.
Attorney general and judicial appointments
When asked what each would be looking for in an attorney general and judicial appointment, both candidates called for conservative leadership.
Bien said he would seek an attorney general from outside state government.
“I want a clean set of eyes to look at what everything’s been that’s been going on,” he said. “I want someone who will put people first and it will put Wyoming first.”
Degenfelder said she wants stronger advocacy from state agencies.
“I want a bulldog in not just the attorney general’s office, but in all state agencies,” she said. “I want an attorney general that is so aligned to my mission and vision and what I believe that there’s an amicus brief on my desk the next morning after an action takes place.”
Immigration
Both candidates supported stronger immigration enforcement.
Bien explained he wanted to cooperate with ICE “to the fullest extent possible” and to make sure immigrants who are not in the United States legally would be sent out of the state.
Degenfelder said illegal immigration is already affecting communities in Wyoming.
“If you’re here legally, you got nothing to worry about. If you aren’t, it’s time to go home,” she said.
Energy development and green energy
Energy policy generated some of the sharpest comments of the night.
Degenfelder argued renewable energy projects should compete without government support.
“I’m also an economist and so I’ll tell you the way that you kill these green energy, you make them play on the same playing field,” she said. “No more tax subsidies, no more handouts, ensuring the regulatory environment is just as equal.”
Bien took a firmer stance against renewable development.
“Folks, there’s no place in Wyoming for this green energy,” he said. “I want these things bonded up front and where we’re not paying for these like we did all the gas wells. The answer for me is absolutely, unequivocally no.”
Economic development
Degenfelder argued government should focus on infrastructure such as water and sewer systems rather than directing economic development.
“Government does not create jobs. Private business does,” she said.
Bien echoed that sentiment.
“The only business that government has in business is simply to get out of the way. It’s to cut taxes. It’s to deregulate,” he said. “Right now, we’re turning into state capitalism where we have our own state government picking winners and losers.”
Government audits
Both candidates supported increased auditing of state government.
“This state has not done a full-blown budgetary audit since 1989,” Bien said. “Whoever’s belly-aching loudest is going to get audited first.”
Degenfelder agreed.
“We should be auditing every single state agency, every single budget line all the time,” she said. “Government is a beast, and you need someone in there who can tame it and who knows how to do it.”
Abortion
Abortion was another topic where both candidates expressed strong opposition.
“Life starts at conception and there are no exceptions,” Degenfelder said. “We are now one of the most openly abortion states in the country because of that ruling by the Supreme Court. We’re working against the devil here.”
Bien also opposed abortion.
“Folks, for me, there are no exceptions. Life does begin at conception,” he said.
Election integrity
Bien advocated for hand-counting ballots.
“I am very much a proponent of hand tabulation being the primary method of counting all cast paper ballots and I will push that way,” he said.
Degenfelder called for paper ballots statewide.
“Every single ballot should be a paper ballot,” she said, adding that she supports “banning dropboxes.”
Republican platform
Both candidates pledged support for the Wyoming Republican Party platform.
“80% is a no-brainer, and we need to require that out of our elected officials,” Degenfelder said.
Bien said he expects to be held to “100%” of the platform.
“The party’s been co-opted. You have to have an ‘R’ behind your name to win in this state,” he said.
Candidate priorities
During a segment where candidates selected their own discussion topics, Degenfelder highlighted school choice, career and technical education, removing pornography from school libraries and protecting Wyoming’s water rights.
Bien focused on education and agriculture, criticizing student proficiency rates and proposing policies aimed at strengthening Wyoming’s agricultural industry, including declaring agriculture critical infrastructure and reducing regulations on small butcheries.
Technology and education
Although technology and its place within education was not discussed during the debate, County 17 asked both Degenfelder and Bien their thoughts regarding student technology in schools.
Bien said technology is being used too much in classrooms and is making it harder for students to think on their own.
“What it’s doing is it’s dumbing down our kids,” Bien said. “Our kids aren’t learning how to critically think anymore. They go straight to one of the AI things and it generates an answer for them.”
Degenfelder said she backed a bill to ban cellphones during instruction time.
“I supported a bill that came through the legislature a couple of years ago that actually would ban cell use during instructional time, and I stand by that,” Degenfelder said. “I think that it’s appropriate to take cellphones out of classrooms, and what we find is that kids thrive.”
Closing statements
In closing remarks, Bien emphasized his experience as an outsider candidate.
“I am the only outsider in this race, but I am the only one who’s got an inordinate amount of leadership experience,” he said. “Folks, you deserve a government that you can trust.”
Degenfelder pointed to her endorsements from President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman.
“I get asked a lot, ‘How did you get the Trump endorsement?’” Degenfelder said. “The answer is really simple. I earned it.”
Alongside other candidates, Bien and Degenfelder will be competing for support in Wyoming’s Republican gubernatorial primary Aug. 18.
Related
-
Delaware7 minutes agoThomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school
-
Florida10 minutes agoMan accused of kidnapping woman at Wawa in Central Florida
-
Georgia15 minutes ago5 things to know about Georgia mosquito problem amid heat, drought
-
Hawaii22 minutes agoHawaii weather: USGS revised 4.6 magnitude earthquake off Kona coast, south swell, passing showers
-
Idaho25 minutes agoIdaho state troopers identify Billings man missing in traffic accident
-
Illinois30 minutes agoHistorical Corn versus Soybean Returns in Illinois – farmdoc daily
-
Indiana37 minutes agoIndiana football has top-rated transfer in ESPN rankings, and 3 in top 20
-
Iowa40 minutes agoZach Lahn projected to win Iowa GOP governor primary, upsetting Trump’s pick in a state Democrats hope to flip
