WyoFile,January 11, 2019 by Andrew Graham
Two bills proposed in the Wyoming Senate offer dramatically different visions for future Wyoming elections — with one seeking to restrict primary voting to the party faithful and the other seeking to sideline political parties and make primaries wide open.
Important proposals to follow and to advise your representatives about
Senate File 32 Change in political party affiliation is sponsored by Sen. Bo Biteman (R-Ranchester). The bill would bar voters from switching their parties after the first day candidates can file for primary elections. Voters would have to pick a party before they knew all the primary candidates — keeping them from voting in another party’s primary to block a candidate or advance another, Biteman said.
The bill answers conservative concerns that Democrats are switching parties to influence Republican primary elections by voting for moderates, Biteman said. “It should have been called the ‘stay in your lane bill’,” he said.
https://www.wyofile.com/senate-bills-offer-divergent-views-for-future-elections/
UPDATE: After broad public interest pushed testimony over two days, the Wyoming Legislature’s Committee on Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions killed this bill. See Casper Star Tribune: https://trib.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/bill-that-would-have-barred-crossover-voting-dies-in-wyoming/article_d291fd22-e519-50e8-90af-bc6c1a71baa2.html