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Gray calls for 15 more election reform bills this year.CHEYENNE — Over the past four years, the Wyoming Legislature has considered nearly 100 election-related pieces of legislation.While a majority of those bills have failed, including ones considered multiple times, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray came before lawmakers Friday to advocate for 15 more to be considered in 2027.The Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee met for a second consecutive day in Lander, this time to discuss the slate of election reform bills.Cale Case, R-Lander, expressed concern about continuing to work failed legislation and increasing the workload on county clerks in an election year.“I’m not enthusiastic, but I’m trying to find a way that the good members that do want to support these bills can express themselves … (15 bills) is going to be an enormous workload, and it’s going to be an enormous burden on our public during the election year, and it will sow confusion in the process,” he said.The 15 bills discussed include nine previously committee-sponsored bills, five previously individual- sponsored bills and one new proposal.While Cale’s sentiment was shared by some lawmakers on the committee and those who offered public comment, others maintained that it is essential to continue to push for election reform.“The 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, took over 40 years of repeated attempts.The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was tried through Congress in 1957 and 1960, and I can go on,” said Rep.Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne, adding that the measures under consideration are primarily preventative.Gray’s priorities Gray’s presentation included a familiar list of priorities, many of which failed in previous sessions.He argued that the current political climate provides a “moment of tremendous opportunity” to overhaul the state’s voting procedures.Gray opened the discussion by framing his agenda as a necessary step to restore public trust in elections.One of his top priorities remains mandating pen-to-paper ballots as the default voting method, specifically targeting Laramie County’s use of electronic marking devices that print barcodes.“I can’t read barcode.Have you ever found someone who can?” Gray asked the committee, arguing that voters cannot verify if a barcode accurately reflects their selections.He linked this proposal to a national push for election security, noting it aligns with intent to preserve the integrity of American elections.Gray also advocated for explicit bans on ballot drop boxes and ballot collection practices, which is the gathering and submitting of completed absentee or mail-in voter ballots by a third party.He maintained that drop boxes lack statutory authorization and were only popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic.“Wyoming must take action to ban ballot harvesting,” Gray insisted, characterizing it as a common-sense measure already adopted by more than 30 other states.Further proposals included requiring a photo ID for all voters, removing Medicare and student IDs from the acceptable list and instituting mandatory random hand-count audits.Most of this legislation was proposed during the 2026 budget session, spearheaded by Gray, but failed in the legislative process.Public criticism The proposals met significant pushback from the public, with critics arguing that the bills are solutions in search of a problem.Gail Symons, president of Civics 307, presented data showing that Wyoming’s real election challenges are participation and access, not fraud.“The risk is that Wyoming keeps trying to fix a fraud problem that the public record does not show, while making worse the (election) participation problems the data clearly does show,” Symons said.She noted that while there have been only four documented cases of voter fraud in decades, Wyoming ranks near the bottom of the nation in voter registration rates.Jenny DeSarro of the Equality State Policy Center echoed these concerns, defending the use of barcodes as a trusted technology used by the Department of Defense and the U.S.Postal Service.To address voter participation, DeSarro suggested Wyoming transition to an open primary system that would allow voters to choose a candidate, regardless of party, before the general election.Several others who offered public comment supported this idea.However, it was not formally considered by lawmakers in the meeting.Tom Lacock of AARP Wyoming added that banning drop boxes would disproportionately harm elderly and rural voters who find them convenient and secure.“Don’t make it harder for people to vote,” Lacock said, suggesting that lawmakers should instead focus on helping residents re-register after being purged from the system.Lawmaker debate The debate among lawmakers was also critical of the proposed legislation.Mike Yin, D-Jackson, questioned the utility of again sponsoring bills that had already failed multiple times.“I think this committee is stacked in one particular direction, ideologically,” Yin said, asking Gray why he expected a different outcome this time.Gray responded that the previous session’s failures were due to a two-thirds introduction requirement in the budget year, which would not apply to the upcoming general session.Another proposal was to move the party affiliation change deadline to Jan.1 of an election year to prevent crossover voting, where a voter changes parties to vote in the primary.Gray cited statistics showing that crossover voting has already declined by approximately 75% following a 2023 law that set the deadline for the day before the filing period begins in May, but he argued for a stricter lockout.Case voiced strong opposition to the Jan.1 deadline, citing First Amendment concerns regarding the right to assemble and petition the government.Case argued that in a Republican-dominant state like Wyoming, the primary is the only election where a choice truly exists.“When you lock people out of choosing a party to effectuate their representatives, you’re frustrating their ability to assemble,” Case said, vowing to fight the measure.In contrast, Rep.Paul Hoeft, R-Powell, questioned whether it was the Legislature’s responsibility to be proactive, rather than reactionary.Supporters from outside Wyoming also weighed in.Andrew Mangione of the Election Integrity Network, testifying remotely from Kentucky, urged the committee to pass the bills without amendment, calling paper ballots a “verifiable physical record that cannot be secretly altered.” All 15 proposals will likely be discussed at the next meeting as new draft bills: Pen-and-paper ballots (2026 House Bill 48) Ballot drop box and ballot collection prohibitions (2026 HB 49 and HB 50) Random hand-count audits and recount procedures (2026 HB 51 and HB 52) A “Poll Watchers Bill of Rights” (2026 HB 53) Increasing requirements and moving up deadlines for independent candidates (2026 HB 54) Establishing new post-election audit procedures with required witnesses (2026 HB 85) Stricter photo ID requirements (2026 Senate File 29) Governing the composition and voting eligibility of political party county central committees (2026 SF 33) A measure allowing for the recall of municipal officials The Jan.1 crossover voting deadline.Changes to bond election language (2026 HB 59) Rules for falsifying election documents (2026 HB 84) A hand-count act that would have eliminated voting machines entirely (2026 HB 94) The next step for these bills will be a more detailed review at the committee’s next interim meeting in September.Case said that these were not final votes and that the public will have further opportunities to testify.