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This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.
A federal judge for the U.S. District Court of Wyoming dismissed a lawsuit against a new state law requiring proof of U.S. citizenship and state residency to register to vote.
That’s after legal counsel representing the defendant, Secretary of State Chuck Gray, filed a motion to toss the case earlier this month.
In the explanation for his decision, Judge Scott Skavdahl wrote that the Equality State Policy Center (ESPC), a nonpartisan group that advocates for transparency in government and that in May sued Gray and every county clerk, failed to adequately demonstrate it has the legal standing to ask to block the law.
Legal standing is the requirement that a party must have a demonstrable connection to the law or action they are challenging to be able to sue, and that they’ve been injured by it. In his decision, Skavdahl said the court “has not considered nor makes any comment on the merits of Plaintiff’s claims.”
ESPC’s original complaint said the new law “will impose new, burdensome, and entirely unnecessary requirements that will make it harder for eligible citizens to vote.”
The court filing also said women voters, as well as Hispanic, young and low-income residents, are likely to be the most adversely impacted by the requirement. That’s because those groups are less likely to have the documentation to prove residency, it said.
“I’m extremely pleased with the court’s ruling granting our motion to dismiss this outrageously wrong lawsuit,” Gray, a founding member of the hard-line conservative Wyoming Freedom Caucus, wrote in a press release on July 22. “This is a huge win for the people of Wyoming. Proof of citizenship for registering to vote is a common sense, conservative election integrity measure and was the number one priority of our administration’s conservative election integrity reform agenda and a key priority of President Trump.”
ESPC leadership declined to comment on the ruling, instead directing Wyoming Public Radio to its attorney, Blake McCarren.
McCarren did not immediately respond to an interview request.
Chief among the reasons Skavdahl provided for dismissing the case is that, “Plaintiff is not a voter and cannot register to vote, and thus Plaintiff is not the object or target of HB 156.”
The law, HB 156, says voters must have lived in the state for 30 days for residency.
It also says a county clerk can reject someone's registration due to “any indication” that the person is not a U.S. citizen or Wyoming resident.
In June, the Republican National Committee signed onto the lawsuit to support Gray. The Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) did the same in July.
Skavdahl dismissed the case without prejudice, leaving the door open for it to be refiled by ESPC with a different set of plaintiffs.
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.
