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SF0098 • 2025
School board trustees-party affiliation.
AN ACT relating to ballots; requiring candidates for school board trustee to have their political party affiliation printed on general election ballots; requiring rulemaking; and providing for an effective date.
Education
Elections
Did Not Pass
The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.
- Sponsor
- Senator Olsen
- Last action
- 2025-02-25
- Official status
- inactive
- Effective date
- 3/1/2025
Plain English Breakdown
The bill did not pass and was rejected in its final reading.
School Board Trustee Party Affiliation
The bill requires that candidates for school board trustee positions have their political party affiliation printed on general election ballots and allows the Secretary of State to create rules to implement this requirement.
What This Bill Does
- Requires candidates running for school board trustee positions to include their political party affiliation on general election ballots.
Who It Names or Affects
- Candidates running for school board trustee positions
- Voters who see the party affiliation of candidates on their ballots
Terms To Know
- Nonpartisan election
- An election where candidates do not run under a political party label.
- Partisan ballot
- A ballot that includes the political parties of the candidates running for office.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill did not pass and was rejected in its final reading.
- It is unclear how voters will respond to seeing party affiliations on school board trustee ballots.
- There are no details about what specific rules the Secretary of State would create for implementing this requirement.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment removes a specific line from the bill that relates to school board trustee elections.
- Removes line 6 from page 1 of the original bill text.
- It is unclear what content was in line 6 and how its removal will affect the overall requirements of the bill.
SF0098HW001
Committee of the Whole • Representative Chestek
Adopted
Plain English: The amendment requires that if a school board trustee candidate is registered as an independent, it must be clearly stated on the ballot.
- Adds language to ensure candidates who are independents at the time of filing their nominating petition will be listed as 'independent' on the ballot.
- The amendment text does not specify how this change affects other party affiliations or what happens if a candidate's affiliation changes after filing.
SF0098HS001
Standing Committee • House Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivis
Adopted
Plain English: The amendment requires that the political party affiliation of candidates for school board trustee be printed on general election ballots and specifies how to determine a candidate's party affiliation under certain conditions.
- Adds rules for determining a candidate’s party affiliation if they are registered during or not during the period when changes in party affiliation are prohibited.
- Inserts new paragraphs into existing statutes to ensure that candidates for school board trustee appear on ballots with their political party listed.
- The amendment text does not provide details about how exactly the rulemaking process will be conducted or what specific changes will be made in regulations.
- Some technical legal language is used, which might require further explanation for full understanding.
Bill History
-
2025-02-25
House
H 3rd Reading:Failed 23-38-1-0-0
-
2025-02-24
House
H 2nd Reading:Passed
-
2025-02-21
House
H COW:Passed
-
2025-02-18
House
H Placed on General File
-
2025-02-18
House
H07 - Corporations:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 7-2-0-0-0
-
2025-02-10
House
H Introduced and Referred to H07 - Corporations
-
2025-02-06
House
H Received for Introduction
-
2025-02-06
Senate
S 3rd Reading:Passed 18-12-1-0-0
-
2025-02-05
Senate
S 2nd Reading:Passed
-
2025-02-04
Senate
S COW:Passed
-
2025-01-22
Senate
S Placed on General File
-
2025-01-22
Senate
S04 - Education:Recommend Do Pass 3-2-0-0-0
-
2025-01-16
Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S04 - Education
-
2025-01-10
Senate
S Received for Introduction
-
2025-01-08
LSO
Bill Number Assigned
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
25LSO-0471
2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-0471
Numbered
2.0
SENATE FILE NO. SF0098
School board trustees-party affiliation.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) Olsen, Biteman and Salazar and Representative(s) Andrew, Haroldson, Heiner and Neiman
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to ballots; requiring candidates for school board trustee to have their political party affiliation printed on general election ballots; requiring rulemaking; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
.
W.S. 22
‑
6
‑
131 is created to read:
22
‑
6
‑
131.
School board trustee candidates party affiliation.
A candidate for school board trustee shall have printed on the general election ballot the political party with which the candidate is affiliated. The secretary of state shall promulgate any necessary rules to implement this section.
Section 2
.
W.S. 22
‑
6
‑
123 is amended to read:
22
‑
6
‑
123.
Nonpartisan election ballots and ballot propositions.
Primary and general election ballots for nonpartisan offices and ballot propositions shall be printed on yellow paper or paper with yellow demarcation as provided by rule and regulation of the secretary of state, separate from partisan ballots. They shall contain no political party designations,
except as authorized by law,
but otherwise shall conform to the same general requirements for official partisan ballots except as otherwise specifically provided.
Section 3.
This act is effective July 1, 2025
.
(END)
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SF0098