As Wyoming’s election season begins, remember to do your own research

Wyoming’s election season is right around the corner, with both the state’s candidate filing period and the last day to register to vote happening this week. But many would say the campaign season has already begun. Political billboards popping up like robins appearing to usher in the first signs of spring foretell things to come. How this political cycle will go is everyone’s guess, but there are some signs we might encounter choppy waters ahead.

First off, we’ve seen an ongoing trend towards a kind of anonymous political speech in the introduction of never-before-heard-of groups trying to influence Wyoming’s voters through the usual methods: mailings, billboards, websites, etc. These groups appear to be trying to convince voters of the rightness or wrongness of political candidates, but they are doing so without ever revealing who they are. Rather, they are masked in the dark or semi-dark, often behind layers of out-of-state registered agents and out-of-state contacts. 

And while the argument over their right to do this is not my point today, I think it’s worth noting that legal opinion regarding this behavior varies depending on the type and context. I generally agree that anonymity is part of protected speech, but also agree it should always come with some legal guardrails to ensure anonymity isn’t abused. 

Rather, my point is that voters need to be as cautious about listening to and being convinced by these groups as they would be about buying a designer purse from a street-side vendor. 

As an example, one such group has been putting up billboards across the state supporting some candidates and against others. But no one knows who they are or what their motives might be for injecting this speech into our political discourse. Their website is vague and extremely sparse. This group has also created a political scoring card, which voters should be cautious about. 

Scorecards are one of the easiest ways to manipulate a narrative about candidates while deliberately hiding the true story for a political purpose. They are generally a way to look at a politician’s voting record on a particular topic, say the Second Amendment. However, organizations with zero track record or who are new to the political scene aren’t the gold standard for this type of issue-based political scoring. 

The gold standard can be found in organizations that have been around for decades or organizations that may be new but are transparent about their leadership and what they stand for, along with the methods they use to create the score. As a pro-life voter, the Susan B. Anthony organization is one group I look to for information about which candidates hold a strong pro-life position. Strong Second Amendment supporters like me often look to groups like the NRA or Gun Owners of America as other gold standards in creating and broadcasting issue-based political scores. Voters on the left have similar tried-and-true organizations they can turn to for information on candidates or issues. 

In contrast, voters should take organizations that will not identify who they are with a gigantic grain of salt. And while it’s unfortunate that people believe this kind of behavior is acceptable, the reality is that it’s happening. Wyoming voters need to use caution when they find anonymous groups trying to persuade them of the rightness or wrongness of any particular candidate.

Even in politics, there’s some honor among thieves — you just have to know where to look. Generally, that means organizations that have been around for a while. They have already earned the honor. In the words of Louis L’Amour, “Honor can be a troublesome thing but if one has it one does not lightly yield it.”

Here’s another thing to consider about political scorecards: The reason scoring legislators more broadly (and not on single issues) is often so deeply skewed is because the skewing is a deliberate tactic. Deciding what pieces of legislation should be used to create a score can easily be manipulated to get the results a group has already predetermined it wants. If they want candidate “A” to be conservative, you can cherry pick the votes to make candidate “A” conservative. 

Voters should know that legislators who chase this kind of external “score” may fear their constituents doing their own homework about their legislative performance. If you are looking for a certain label to decide whether you want to vote for someone, do your own homework and call or email the candidate yourself to ask directly. 

In the end, we are not going to improve our country, or Wyoming, by being overly influenced by those who think it’s OK to hide who or what they stand for. I know many might think shady tactics are worth it to gain victories for what they believe to be an important cause. But I would say nothing is worth losing your moral compass along the way. 

The business of influencing voters is the business of elections, election consultants, campaigns, even political pundits. But they should do so with the greatest amount of transparency. In most cases, that is what the law requires. There’s a reason a candidate is required to put “paid for…” statements on their political advertising. This is so voters know just exactly who’s trying to convince them to vote one way or another. 

It’s important to remember that candidates who are attacked by people they cannot identify have very limited ability to fight back. They have no idea who these people are and yet their names are smeared by them. Thankfully, these kinds of tactics often offer little to no real reward, as voters are generally turned off by negative politics. Wyoming may have a season of increased negative campaigning ahead of us this year, but we would all do well to turn off, throw out, or scroll past this kind of campaigning. 

Wyoming is a small state with easy access to all our elected officials. Voters have a unique and profound ability to contact and speak directly to their state legislators, their city councilmen, their county commissioners, and that ability is priceless. The Wyoming Legislature has an easy-to-navigate website where voters can look up bills and see how their elected officials voted. Your own research is far more trustworthy than many of the groups who will be sending you flyers in the mail or advertisements on your digital devices. Voters should be suspicious of anonymous political campaigning. 

While the waters may be choppy, this campaign season is sure to be a fun ride with lots of twists and turns. But through it all remember: buyer beware.