Today, June 26, the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a motion to intervene and help defend Wyoming’s new law requiring proof of citizenship to vote. The newly passed HB 156 is set to take effect on July 1, 2025.
Summary of HB 156: AN ACT relating to elections; requiring a qualified elector to be a bona fide resident of the state of Wyoming for not less than thirty (30) days before the date of the election in which they offer to vote; requiring documentation proving residence to register to vote; prohibiting registration based on documentation showing noncitizen status; making conforming amendments; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.
Saying the trust of Republican voters in Wyoming election systems hinges on the outcome of the case, GOP leaders at the national level are asking a federal judge to let them help defend the state’s new election proof-of-citizenship law against a lawsuit filed by the Equality State Policy Center on May 9, 2025.
The lawsuit infers the law is unconstitutional, burdensome, and disproportionately affects women, minorities, and people claiming to be transgenders. The group argues the law violates the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution by imposing unjustified barriers to voting.
In the case, Equality State Policy Center v. Gray, Marc Elias is using a left-wing group to sue Wyoming’s Republican Secretary of State, Chuck Gray.
If Elias’s case is successful, it could be easier for non-citizens to vote.
HB 156 passed the Wyoming House of Representatives 51-8 and the Wyoming Senate 26-4. The bill was the number one priority of Secretary of State Chuck Gray’s Election Integrity Agenda announced in December 2024.
The RNC argues that the challenge threatens Election Integrity and voter trust, aligning with their support for the law as a measure to ensure only citizens vote. Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray is a defendant in the case and welcomes the RNC’s support, calling the lawsuit a “meritless attack by the radical left.”
Share This Post...
