For the second time since April, a Natrona County judge has ruled in favor of Wyoming’s Secretary of State Chuck Gray.
The ruling came after U.S. congressional candidate Jimmy Skovgard filed a lawsuit against the state’s closed primary election system. Skovgard, along with six voters, brought the suit claiming that the party affiliation deadline interferes with some voters’ ability to choose him in the primary election. Judge Daniel Forgey dismissed the first case, and after Skovgard filed again, Forgey dismissed the second suit on July 22.
Skovgard claimed that Wyoming’s party affiliation deadline interferes with his ability to “associate with willing supporters who want to vote for me in the Republican primary. Because of that deadline, I cannot fully engage, organize and receive electoral support in the decisive stage of the election from willing supporters who refuse to change their political identity or who wish to leave a party affiliation that no longer reflects their beliefs,” Skovgard said in an affidavit released after he filed his second suit in May.
In a press release distributed after the decision was made, Secretary Gray said, “I applaud this common-sense order siding with our position and dismissing this outrageously wrong lawsuit brought by the radical left.”
“These baseless lawsuits,” Gray continued, “show how far the radical left will go to dismantle the core systems of our republic.”
Gray and his legal team stated that the plaintiffs were arguing against the primary system and not the decision timeline itself. They claimed voters already intended to support Skovgard’s nomination before the registration deadline. Judge Forgey said he agreed with Gray’s analysis for “substantially the same reasons.”
Skovgard’s lawsuit would have paused Wyoming’s closed primary rules. Only registered party members are allowed to vote in a closed primary election, and will see only that party’s candidate on the ballot. Voters must also declare their party affiliation by a specific deadline. For Wyoming, that deadline was May 13 this year. After that date, voters are locked into their registered political party for the primary election on Aug. 18.
A 2024 study found that open and nonpartisan primaries tend to produce more representative electorates than closed primaries. In those cases, more unaffiliated voters are typically represented, and voters have the option to vote for candidates from any party.
Wyoming’s primary election system will remain closed for the time being. Secretary Gray already asked lawmakers to further “lock out” voters from party-switching back in May. The proposed bill would ban voters from switching political parties within seven months from the beginning of the election year instead of the three months the law currently requires. The Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee approved a motion to create a draft of the law.
