By next Wednesday, Wyoming’s roughly 26,000 unaffiliated registered voters must choose a political party affiliation.
Otherwise they will not have an opportunity to participate in most of the primary races, said Karen Jerger, a League of Women Voters of Wyoming member.
A confluence of new state laws and deadlines means voters are heading into the upcoming decision a bit blind.
“We’re being asked to declare our party affiliation before we’ll know the full slate of candidates,” Jerger said.
This year, candidates have from May 14 until May 29 to file to run.
Wyoming’s majority Republican voter base makes most of its biggest decisions in the primary, as a majority of candidates and voters are party members.
This year is stacking up to be a test of Pres. Donald Trump’s endorsements. He has already chosen favorites for a high-profile governor’s race and the U.S. Senate. He has yet to weigh in on the crowded field jockeying for the state’s lone U.S. House seat.
Unaffiliated voters “will not have an opportunity to participate in any of [those] primary races,” Jerger said.
Wyoming used to have some of the most open primaries, as voters could change their affiliation on election day. That changed in 2023 when state lawmakers passed a law preventing the move, which had allowed Democrats to vote for more moderate Republicans.
It was seen by many as retaliation against the mass exodus of the state’s Democrats to stop the ouster of former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, who lost to Harriet Hageman, Trump’s current endorsee for U.S. Senate.
For those who remain unaffiliated, or the few Constitution and Libertarian party members, primary choices will be limited or nonexistent.
All changes and voter registration can be done in person with identification at county election offices by the end of May 13. New voters can register, declare and vote up until and on election day, August 18.
Teton County Clerk Maureen “Mo” Murphy said that “a few” people have been into the elections office each day in recent weeks to change their registration, but far less than the thousand-person deluge of party switchers of 2022.
