Many Counties See Huge Last-Minute Crossovers To Vote In Wyoming’s GOP Primary

Many Wyoming county clerks reported a rush of last-minute crossover registrations to vote in the Republican primary just ahead of the May 13 deadline to switch parties. For example, Teton County saw 513 party changes from Jan. 1 to May 13, with more than half—271 changes—occurring between May 8 and the deadline. Of those 271 late changes, 242 were people switching from Democratic, unaffiliated, or minor parties to Republican. Conversely, 45 people switched to Democratic Party affiliation.

“We did have a lot more unaffiliated voters that chose to affiliate so they could vote,” Teton County Clerk Maureen Murphy said. “That was my big message: if you are unaffiliated, you don’t get to vote in the primary. We are a closed primary system. So pick a ballot if you want to choose in the primary.”

The primary election for Democratic and Republican nominations is Aug. 18. The GOP primary is generally considered the most decisive election in Wyoming, given the state’s supermajority Republican makeup. Many unaffiliated and Democratic-minded voters register as Republican to sway the GOP primary—a controversial topic that the state Democratic Party discourages, even as some Democratic officeholders encourage it.

Laramie County saw 680 party changes from Jan. 1 to May 13, with 347 occurring between May 8 and 13. Around 46% of changes went from Democratic to Republican, 34% from unaffiliated to a major party, and 12% from Republican to Democratic. “Well, we are the largest county,” Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee said.

Albany County processed 519 party changes, with 226 happening in the final five days. Of those, 151 were Democrats switching to Republican, and 58 were unaffiliated or minor party voters switching to Republican. Eight Republicans switched to Democratic, and nine unaffiliated or minor party voters switched to Democratic. “Normally we have more Democrats here,” Albany County Clerk Kayla White said. “It’s not uncommon they’d switch. Other counties are more Republican-heavy. They don’t see the flip as much.”

Natrona County had 360 party changes this year, with 189 in the final five days—144 switching to Republican, 43 to Democratic. Park County saw 166 changes, with 73 in the final five days. Sheridan County had 164 changes, with 113 in the final five days—57 from Democratic to Republican, 53 from unaffiliated or minor parties to Republican. Sublette County had 62 changes, with 26 in the final five days—23 switching to Republican. Converse County had 37 changes, with eight in the final five days—seven unaffiliated to Republican, one Democrat to Republican. Sweetwater County had 111 changes, with 41 in the final five days—35 switching to Republican.

Fremont County saw a huge red shift: of 162 crossovers in the final five days, 74 Democrats switched to Republican, and 80 unaffiliated or minor party voters did likewise. Only eight people switched to Democratic. Campbell County had 19 late changes, with 16 switching to Republican.

Niobrara County, one of the reddest counties in the nation, had zero crossovers. “They’re all registered Republican,” Niobrara County Clerk Becky Freeman said. “There’s a few Democrats and unaffiliated—but nobody changed parties.”

The crossover voting concern prompted the passage of a 2023 law barring party changes after the candidate filing period opens. Goshen County Clerk Mary Feagler reported just 12 crossovers from May 1 to 13 and expressed worry. “I kind of expected more people to be doing that,” she said. “Which kind of worries me that we’ll have more disgruntled people between now and election day—that may discover that they aren’t going to have the ballot they wanted.” The primary election is Aug. 18. Only registered Republicans can vote in Republican partisan contests.