HB0154 amends Wyoming’s false voting law to make clear that the prohibition on voting more than once applies to out-of-state voting as well. The bill updates W.S. 22-26-106(a)(iv) so that “voting, or offering to vote, more than once in an election” expressly includes voting more than once in a way that could involve another state, closing any ambiguity about whether the statute reaches cross-border or absentee-related double voting.
The bill also revises the enforcement process for alleged false voting. Under the amended language, a county sheriff investigates false voting only when requested by a county clerk who has reasonable cause to believe a violation occurred, and if the sheriff finds merit in the allegation, the matter is referred to the district attorney for prosecution. The act takes effect July 1, 2025.
Impact
HB0154 would narrow and clarify Wyoming election law by expressly extending the false voting statute to out-of-state voting conduct and by formalizing the investigative pathway for suspected violations. It affects the election code, county clerks, county sheriffs, and district attorneys by defining when investigations may be initiated and how cases move into prosecution, while potentially strengthening enforcement against double voting across jurisdictions.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been generally supported in both chambers, with strong initial committee and floor passage votes and no recorded committee testimony in the provided materials. However, the later failed concurrence vote and the rejection of a subsequent amendment suggest some disagreement over the final form of the legislation, even though the core concept of clarifying false voting law had broad support.
Contention
The main point of contention appears to have been the bill’s final wording and any amendments rather than the underlying policy of prohibiting double voting. The House and Senate both passed the bill, but the House later failed to concur with the Senate’s changes by a wide margin, indicating disagreement over the amended version. The final vote on a joint conference amendment also failed, showing that legislators were divided on how to structure the enforcement and investigative provisions, even if they agreed on the need to address false voting.