During a recent interim Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivision Committee meeting in Evanston, lawmakers questioned Wyoming’s secretary of state about political mailings some voters have received.
Legislators say one of the mailers contains “inaccurate” information.
The handouts accuse Reps. J.T. Larson and Cody Wylie (R-Rock Springs) of voting to remove former Pres. Donald Trump from the ballot during the 2024 budget session.
Larson and Wylie say they and the Wyoming Legislature have never voted on that issue.
Both have jointly filed a defamation suit in district court in Sweetwater County against the far-right House Freedom Caucus’s political action committee, which sent the mailers.
“It seems interesting to me that the same people who tout election integrity are the ones that are lying about certain votes,” said Larson during the meeting. “I just think that we’re going to be seeing a lot more of this if we don’t address it as a state, a lot more lies coming out in political campaigns. Maybe not even direct lies, but just misleading voters.”
Secretary Chuck Gray said he wasn’t sure the mailers violated the state Election Code, known as Title 22, and that he believes reporters are misrepresenting the issue.
“These opinions are in the eye of the beholder,” said Gray. “I’ve yet to hear a Title 22 issue [with the mailers]. So I’d invite individuals – if there’s a Title 22 issue, that’s something that our office has jurisdiction over.”
Lawmakers indicated it was too close to the primary election for the Joint Corporations Committee to take action.
They also discussed new reports that say the Crook County Republican Party donated $25,000 to the Freedom Caucus PAC, which some have said may constitute a campaign finance violation.
Wyoming’s primary election is on August 20.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
