Gray hopes to revisit what failed in 2025, presents new slate of election reform bills

CHEYENNE—After only a few of the 45 election bills proposed during the 2025 legislative session — many by Secretary of State Chuck Gray — made it to the governor’s desk, Gray is back with more proposed election reform bills ahead of the 2026 budget session.

On Thursday, he hosted a news conference at the Wyoming State Capitol to discuss his top five legislative priorities.

“As Wyoming’s Secretary of State and Wyoming’s chief election official, I will continue our work on conservative, election integrity reforms,” Gray said in a news release. 

He said Thursday that the current conservative majority provides a “moment of tremendous opportunity to take action on these reforms.”

The legislative push comes after a strenuous 2025 session, during which Wyoming lawmakers filed 45 election-related bills, making up about 8% of all proposed legislation, according to previous reporting from WyoFile.

Despite this effort, many of the most extensive measures championed by Gray and sponsored by Wyoming Freedom Caucus members died in the Wyoming Senate. Gray noted that while six of 10 of his administration’s 2025 priorities advanced, the remaining four were “held up” by the Senate, and these items form the core of his 2026 agenda.

Gray expressed his disappointment with Senate leadership for halting the passage of bills that had garnered strong support in the Freedom Caucus-dominated House.

His 2026 agenda focuses heavily on reviving previously failed election reform bills, with some new proposals.

1. Requiring pen-to-paper ballots as default

The first priority centers on mandating pen-to-paper ballots as the default voting method in Wyoming. While 22 of the 23 counties already operate this way, Gray noted that Laramie County, the largest county, uses electronic ballot marking devices that cast votes using barcodes.

Gray said this mechanism lacks transparency for the voter because it is unknown to the naked eye if the barcode accurately reflects what is filled out on the ballot.

“I can’t read barcode. I haven’t met anybody who could read barcode, and the argument that the clerk often gives is ‘Well, the ballot marking device prints out a piece of paper with the names of the votes.’ It misses the point a little bit,” he said.

Gray said that mandating the physical oval marking ensures the vote is cast by the readable oval, not the unreadable barcode. 

Gray linked this proposal directly to an executive order from President Donald Trump, taking a step toward implementing that order in Wyoming. A similar bill passed the House with a majority in the 2025 session, but was ultimately shot down in the Senate.

Election software companies like ES&S maintain that both hand-marked paper ballots and machine-marked paper ballots are secure vote-casting methods.

2. Banning drop boxes and ballot collection

This priority addresses two measures intended to tighten procedures for handling ballots after they leave the voter’s possession. Gray seeks to explicitly ban both ballot drop boxes and ballot collection.

Gray argued that drop boxes lack statutory authorization and proliferated only during the government’s response to COVID-19.

“I believe it is important that we take immediate action to explicitly ban ballot drop boxes,” he said.

For ballot collection, which is the gathering and submitting of completed absentee or mail-in voter ballots by someone else, Gray seeks an outright ban.

“Wyoming must take action to ban ballot harvesting,” he said. “We’re one of a handful of states that does not have an explicit ban on ballot harvesting.”

In previous legislative meetings, opponents argued that drop boxes are a secure and convenient voting option, particularly for rural residents. Both the ballot drop box and ballot collection bills passed the House in 2025 before dying in the Senate.

3. True photo ID for voter ID

Gray aims to change Wyoming’s Voter ID law by requiring that all forms of identification presented for voting include a photograph.

As a state lawmaker, Gray was the lead sponsor of the 2021 voter ID statute, but he noted concessions were made that he wants to now improve upon. Specifically, he seeks to remove identifications from the statute that lack photos — such as Medicare and Medicaid cards — which are currently acceptable.

“You’re trying to prove that the person who is coming to the polls … is on the voter list, that that is the same person that they’re claiming to be, and if you don’t have a photo on the ID, how are you going to do that? So, clarifying this requiring photo ID for voter ID is common sense,” he said.

Bills to revise acceptable identification by repealing the use of Medicare/Medicaid cards and student IDs passed the House in 2025, but failed to meet deadlines in the Senate.

According to data from AARP Wyoming, more than 300 people used the Medicaid ID to vote last year, and voters over 50 have had the highest statewide percentage voter turnout every year since at least 2010.

“Gray would like to eliminate that and all student IDs. His mistaken belief is anyone can get to a WYDOT station for a free state ID,” AARP Wyoming Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs Tom Lacock wrote in a statement. “We push back on that and use the example of those in nursing homes. Those who are homebound, but would still like to vote on Election Day. We have offered other options outside of Medicare. The Secretary has not and is unwilling to consider anything different.”

4. Hand tabulation for recounts and audits

This measure seeks to institute hand tabulation verification of voting machines for recounts and audits. Gray stated that many Wyoming residents are distrustful of electronic voting machines and need verification methods.

“It’s common sense that you shouldn’t just trust everything that a machine spits out,” he said.

The proposal would implement mandatory hand recounts in races decided by a narrow margin (within one or two percentage points) or allow candidates to request a hand recount. 

Gray reminded those at the news conference that the bill to enable candidate-requested hand recounts passed the House in 2025, but was held by Senate leadership.

5. Banning dual citizenship voting

The fifth priority is a new initiative aimed at amending the Wyoming Constitution to require all qualified electors to be solely United States citizens, effectively banning dual citizenship for voting and holding office. Gray said this measure “is in line with the intent of the state’s founders when they drafted the state constitution.”

Gray noted that currently, dual citizens are legally allowed to vote under Wyoming law, leading to constituent questions.

“It’s pretty common sense that, to vote in Wyoming, individuals would need to swear allegiance to the United States of America and the United States only, period,” he said. “And clarifying that dual citizenship is not allowed for voting is a very important clarification.”

Though county clerks have previously expressed budgetary concerns to the WTE amid increased election requirements compounded by continued decreases in funds from property taxes, Gray said he is “all ears” regarding the needs of county clerks and will continue to seek grant funding to support necessary programs.

The Wyoming County Clerks Association did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.

“The time for action is now. We can’t dither and delay. We need to bring through these election integrity priorities,” Gray said in conclusion, noting that passing a budget during the 2026 budget session remains the ultimate priority ahead of election reform bills.