Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray is currently facing two separate lawsuits that place him at the center of legal and political controversies involving constitutional interpretation, election integrity, and partisan divisions.
Lawsuit One: Allegations Under the 14th Amendment
The first legal challenge was filed in February by plaintiff Tim Newcomb, a Wyoming resident and former federal prosecutor. The lawsuit seeks to remove Gray from office, citing alleged violations of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution and multiple articles of the Wyoming Constitution.
Newcomb’s case draws a direct connection to Trump v. Anderson, a lawsuit that aimed to disqualify now President Donald Trump from the ballot over his alleged involvement in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack. In the Wyoming case, Newcomb argues that Gray’s continued support for Trump and his decision to keep Trump on the state ballot represent a violation of the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause,” which disqualifies individuals who have sworn an oath to the Constitution but later engaged in insurrectionist acts.
In response, Secretary Gray issued a strong rebuttal:
“Tim Newcomb and the radical left’s attempts to weaponize the judicial process by trying to remove conservatives from office is repugnant to the republic.”
Lawsuit Two: Controversy Over House Bill 156
A second lawsuit—this one filed at the federal level by the Equality State Policy Center along with other civil rights advocates—challenges House Bill 156, a recently enacted election law championed by Gray. The bill requires proof of US citizenship and Wyoming residency in order to register to vote, such as a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization documents. It is scheduled to go into effect on July 1.
The lawsuit claims that HB156 imposes “unnecessary and burdensome” requirements that will disproportionately affect women, Hispanic voters, young people, and low-income individuals. It specifically highlights that women may be disenfranchised due to name mismatches caused by marriage, a situation not uncommon among voters. Critics also argue that implementation will be costly and time-consuming for county clerks, potentially delaying election results.
The plaintiffs allege that the law violates the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the US Constitution and could lead to arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement across counties.
State Representative Mike Yin, speaking at a recent legislative committee meeting, expressed concern that the bill addresses a problem that hasn’t been clearly demonstrated:
“I’m perfectly happy to figure out how to fix problems that have cropped up, but what I don’t want to do is chase red herrings and break our entire election system because someone believes that there might have been a problem in some time that never actually happened.”
Secretary Gray remains defiant. In a recent statement, he said:
“I will be preparing to vigorously defend Wyoming’s proof of residency requirements. We will fight this lawsuit and the false claims in it, and we will win.”
Gray also attributed the challenge to national Democratic efforts. In particular, he pointed to Marc Elias, a prominent Democratic election attorney involved in the lawsuit, alleging that groups like the ACLU and the Equality State Policy Center are working to weaken election laws in Republican-led states.
With input from Wyoming News Now and Bigfoot99 Radio.
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