Run-off elections still on the table

Only one of three proposed changes to Wyoming’s voting system met with the approval of the Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee on Thursday. Ranked choice and open primaries appear to have fallen by the wayside, but the committee will push ahead with Representative Chip Neiman’s proposal to introduce run-off elections.

Run-off Elections

Calling it a “good little bill” prepared with the help of the Wyoming County Clerk’s Association, the Secretary of State’s Office and the Legislative Service Office, Neiman presented legislation to introduce run-off elections that would be triggered if no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote. The primary elections would be moved to May to accommodate potential run-off elections in August.

“I know for a fact that this is a heavily desired piece of legislation,” he said.

To make this possible in a year when redistricting is taking place,

Neiman also presented a constitutional amendment that would see the legislature convene a special session in December to complete the redistricting process. If approved by the Legislature, this amendment would appear on next year’s ballot; for this reason, the introduction of run-off elections could not occur before the 2024 elections.

According to Secretary of State Ed Buchanan, run-offs would cost $230,000 at the state level, plus around $30,000 for additional absentee ballots. For county clerks, the additional election would cost a total of $1.1 million statewide, regardless of the number of seats requiring a run-off.

“You would probably find yourself spending that on a fairly regular basis,” Buchanan said, pointing out that there would have been a run-off for five of the last six elections.

One issue with run-off elections raised by Senator Charles Scott is “election fatigue” – the potential for a fall-off in turnout after the primaries. Gail Symons of Civics 307 provided information from the ten states who use run-off elections that the decline is 38% on average; if the run-off is held more than 20 days after the primary, she noted, the drop is three times greater.

“We already have a very poor turnout in primary elections and so this actually means a greater decline,” Symons said. She questioned how relevant the results are with that much of a drop.

Several legislators wondered about the new timing of the primaries, which would see the filing period open and close while the Legislature is in session. This could have unintended consequences on incumbents and their ability to campaign, said Co-Chair Representative Dan Zwonitzer.

Former Senator Bruce Burns said he was concerned about campaigning in March and April just as the general session gets out, when legislators are tired and have been away from their families for weeks. This is likely to have a big effect on retention, he said, because by then, “Frankly, we’re just sick of it.”

Scott added that the filing period closing before the session could have an additional “disastrous” effect: if citizens are mad with legislators for their actions during that session, they don’t have a remedy.

Senator Tara Nethercott wondered why only ten states have used this system and only four have used a system similar to what is being proposed. Curious to know why Wyoming would be positioning itself with only four other states, she said, “But again, let’s put it to the people.”

Senator Cale Case wondered if it would be best to table the bill until the amendment goes to the public vote and then craft legislation if it passes. Senator Ogden Driskill, however, thought the committee should bring it forward, saying it’s hard to argue with something voters can have their say on through a constitutional amendment and that the bill is, “worthy of debate.”

The committee voted to make Neiman’s bill a committee bill to be discussed further at its next meeting.

Role of the Party

The role of the Wyoming Republican Party in pushing the idea of run-off elections was raised several times during the discussion. Frank Eathorne, Chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party, commented on the run-off bill, “Please vote for this, let’s get it out onto the floor,” and said he would be watching how each legislator voted.

Burns later railed against this idea and asked legislators to vote their conscience.

“Any legislator who is craven enough to change their vote because of intimidation tactics doesn’t deserve to be re-elected,” he said, likewise stating that he is very concerned about the leadership of the party threatening legislators.

Zwonitzer also expressed frustration that the party continually positions itself as representing the “grass roots” of the party but does not seem to see this as a “two-way street” in which legislators were elected to also know what party members in their districts want. He also commented that it’s hard to hear election reform is the party’s number one issue after the same was said about presidential primaries five years ago and Republican support “fizzled” after a couple of years.

Eathorne responded that this issue is different in many ways and a focus people keep returning to. He said 18 or 19 counties voted for this by resolution, so, “It truly is a grass roots undertaking and commitment, I believe it will remain long term.”

Senator John Roscoe, the only independent on the committee, noted that it keeps being repeated that all Republicans are for this change, but he isn’t getting that response from his own district and he’s concerned where this “overwhelming” support is coming from.

Representative Shelly Duncan raised a similar point, saying that in her district only a third of constituents are strongly in support and about the same number think there’s nothing wrong with current system. Nethercott wondered why “regular” citizens were not in attendance at the meeting, just “the party.”

Burns pointed out that the issue of support will be solved by the constitutional amendment being on the ballot, which will show “the true pulse of Wyoming” on this matter.

Open Elections

The first of the bills considered during the meeting would have created open primaries, which allow voters to vote for any candidate at a primary, regardless of party. It was tabled after much discussion.

David Hopkinson, LSO, confirmed it could potentially have been implemented in 2022. However, Jennifer Martinez of the Secretary of State’s Office said it would require modifying the voter registration, online candidate filing and campaign filing systems.

“As you are all likely aware, we do not actually encourage any kind of modifications to the system during an election year,” she said. The changes, she said, would have a roughly $800,000 fiscal impact and would need to be implemented during the 2023 maintenance cycle.

Crook County’s David Holland, Vice Chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party, was among those members of the public who spoke against the bill. He stated that one of the Founding Fathers warned against bills that are too wordy and complicated.

“I don’t know who wrote this bill and I don’t want to insult anybody, but I don’t know what problem you’re trying to solve,” he said of the 47-page document.

Wyoming voters want elections to be more closed, not more open, he said. They want Republicans to elect Republicans and Democrats to elect Democrats, without the possibility of party switching.

“This bill is not representative of what the people of Wyoming want,” Holland said.

Several others spoke against the bill and expressed concern over its potential to erode freedoms, while only a couple spoke in support, suggesting that the issue of Democrats not being able to vote for those who govern them at the county level could be solved through an open primary.

Symons spoke to clear up some apparent misconceptions. She told legislators she had investigated for several election cycles and found that party affiliation change is actually a “trope.”

“The number of changes are exceedingly small in comparison,” she said.

What’s really happening, she said, is that people who care about voting have “thrown up their hands” and affiliated with the Republicans so as to have a voice, and an open election actually cleans this up.

Representative Dan Zwonitzer, a political science teacher, noted that the Founding Fathers did not like political parties. He shared his belief that open primaries would remove the need for a candidate to label themselves and could assist voters in selecting candidates who share their beliefs.

Case expressed concern the bill is a waste of time because so many people are opposed, which he said is because, “I’m looking at a Republican party that wants to win, not one that wants to govern.”

A party that wants to win aims to tilt things in its favor, he said, and that means closing up crossover voting, not encouraging too many candidates and so on. A party that wants to govern, on the other hand, would seek common ground and be in favor of such things as open primaries.

Scott agreed, but said he was opposed to the bill for reasons he didn’t think could be cured through amendments, such as the potential to cut major political parties out of the general election and that it weakens the party system, which has “very useful functions.” A motion was passed to table the bill.

Ranked Choice Voting

The committee also declined to introduce a bill to implement ranked choice voting in Wyoming.

This could not have been implemented for the 2022 elections either, said Martinez, because it would require federal certification as Wyoming doesn’t yet have the expertise to validate its own system.

The cost of this, said Martinez, would have been $860,000 plus $10,000 per county per election for the necessary software.

Eathorne testified that the grassroots of the party has made election integrity their number one priority. Within the party, he said, “There is no support for ranked choice voting,” only for run-off elections.

National Committeeman Corey Steinmetz talked of speaking to a county clerk in Maine, who said the issues with ranked choice include it being difficult to understand and the cost being higher.

Holland commented that these issues are very important and everyone wants to rush for 2022, but, “How about we shoot for 2024 and we get it right?” Zwonitzer asked if he was speaking on behalf of the party, as it seems the grassroots has been pushing for a change in time for 2022.

Holland replied that he can’t speak for the party but the county clerks have said it’s doable but not by 2022. “Let’s not pass something that doesn’t work just to meet a deadline,” he said. Case responded, “That might be good advice for us all to take.”

Senator Brian Boner suggested it could be made optional only for counties and cities so as to, “Prove it out in real life.” While Scott called it “an intriguing idea,” he said he thinks the English saying that the idea is “too clever by half” applies here. A vote to introduce the bill failed.

Absentee Ballots

The second bill to get support answered a request from Wyoming’s county clerks to make permanent the Secretary of State’s directive in 2020 that absentee ballots can be counted ahead of election day.

Julie Freese, Fremont County Clerk, said that many of her constituents have expressed a desire to continue using absentee ballots after trying them for the first time during COVID-19.

Freese said she tested the time it takes to run ballots and, even if everything goes great and there are no issues along the way, by her calculations it would take Laramie County a total of 37 hours to process the likely number of absentee votes they could receive in 2022 with the number of teams they have.

The committee moved to support the bill, with an amendment that would add a penalty for any election official who reveals results until after the polls close.

“I think it would be a good idea to make a violation…and I personally believe it should be a felony, because it’s so egregious,” commented Buchanan. “If someone were to share this information – and that information is really the genesis of the potential fears that we all have – it’s got to be a heavy penalty and it’s got to be serious.”