Media contact: Marissa Carpio
Email: mcarpio@equalitystate.org
Phone: (307) 223-1139
March 27, 2025
(Laramie, WY) The Equality State Policy Center (ESPC) strongly opposes President Trump’s recent executive order, which strips states of their authority to administer elections. Based on misinformation about noncitizen voting, this sweeping order will disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. In Wyoming, we already have a citizenship affirmation on voter registration forms, and across the nation cases of actual noncitizen voting are virtually nonexistent.
The executive order also sets new federal rules for voting equipment and the acceptance of ballots, overriding state and local control of election administration and creating bureaucratic hurdles that could delay the certification of election results. Additionally, it prohibits non-U.S. citizens from donating in certain elections, a move that is largely unnecessary since federal law already bans foreign contributions in U.S. elections. This executive order is more about fueling political rhetoric than addressing any real issue and follows a trend that we’ve seen in our statehouse.
Wyoming’s elections are secure, fair, and accessible, and there is no evidence of widespread fraud in our state. Yet, at both the state and federal levels, we are seeing alarming efforts to undermine election security and voter access.
Just this month, Wyoming’s passage of HB156 imposed a state proof-of-citizenship and proof-of-residency requirement for every voter registration while failing to address key questions about bona fide residency or provisional ballots for federal elections.
Congress is simultaneously considering the SAVE Act, which would impose a similar proof-of-citizenship requirement every time a voter registers or updates their registration. Trump’s executive order seeks to impose similar restrictive measures nationwide, despite courts repeatedly striking down similar laws as unconstitutional.
This executive order also highlights the urgent need to ensure that underrepresented U.S. Citizens, such as those of Hispanic and Latine heritage, have a seat at the table when decisions about our democracy are being made. ESPC’s Chair Project is focused on increasing participation and representation within local and state governments across Wyoming. These continued attacks on voting rights disproportionately affect the very communities that ESPC’s Chair Project is working to engage.
The right to vote is not a partisan issue; it is a fundamental American right. ESPC remains committed to fighting any attempt, whether from Washington or Cheyenne, to make it harder for Wyomingites to participate in our democracy. Everyone agrees that only lawful U.S. citizens residing in Wyoming should vote in our state’s elections. The real divide is between those who prioritize protecting the rights of qualified voters and those who choose to engage in political theater at the expense of hard-working Wyomingites and their voting rights.
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Support: Supporting this resolution aligns with our commitment to fair elections by ensuring that the voices of everyday citizens are not drowned out by unlimited spending from wealthy special interests. The rising costs of campaigns, reflected in ESPC’s recent campaign finance reports, make it harder for ordinary people to run for office and for voters to have an equal say with their dollar power. Agree? 
Concerns: Masquerading as a transparency bill, this bill shoves together many components of other bills we oppose. Despite the lack of evidence that we have an issue with voter fraud in our state, this bill imposes unnecessary barriers and opens our processes up to errors.
ESPC Concerns: This bill creates a $2 million fund for runoff election costs and increases candidate spending. We agree with the intent of this bill, however, we believe in saving money and increasing voter turnout. We think a bill like this should be implemented in a single election, with the top two vote-getters facing off in the General.
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Concerns: Hand-counting is expensive, people-intensive, time-intensive, and inaccurate. The Equality State Policy Center has laid out the reasons to keep our ballot machines, which are accurate, timely, and well-tested.
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