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26LSO-0505
2026
STATE OF WYOMING
26LSO-0505
Numbered
2.0
SENATE FILE NO. SF0114
Election of representatives by county.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) McKeown, Cooper and Laursen, D
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to elections; providing for the election of representatives to the Wyoming house of representatives; specifying requirements for nominations and elections; specifying apportionment and counting procedures for elections of representatives; making conforming amendments; providing for the apportionment of house legislative districts and the number of representatives for each district; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
.
W.S. 22
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30
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101 through 22
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30
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103 are created to read:
CHAPTER 30
ELECTION OF STATE REPRESENTATIVES
22
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30
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101.
General elections for state representatives; ballot design and format.
(a)
At each general election, there shall be elected for each district a number of representatives for the state legislature as provided for in W.S. 28
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2
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119.
(b)
The ballot for electing representatives at the general election shall include:
(i)
The name of each political party that nominates a list of candidates in all capital letters, followed by the phrase "List of Candidates" and the names of the nominated candidates in the order of their nomination;
(ii)
The name of candidates nominated by petition, followed by the phrase "By Petition" and the name of each candidate.
(c)
Candidates nominated by petition shall be treated as a list consisting of a single candidate.
(d)
Voters may vote for one (1) list of candidates in the same manner as for individual candidates for other offices in lieu of selecting individual candidates for the office of representative.
22
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30
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102.
Nominations of candidates for state representatives; primary elections.
(a)
Nominated lists of candidates for representatives in each district shall consist of a number of candidates equal to or less than the number of representatives to be elected in a particular district, with the ordering of each nominated candidate on the list determined according to the political party's chosen nominating method.
(b)
Not later than June 1 in every even
‑
numbered year, the chairman of the state central committee of each political party shall certify to the secretary of state the committee's choice as to the method of nominating candidates for representatives. Each political party's chosen nomination method shall be applied uniformly in all districts.
(c)
The state central committee of each major political party may choose for the party to nominate lists of candidates using the primary election. For major political parties choosing to nominate by primary election, voters in the primary election may vote for as many candidates in an amount equal to or less than the number of representatives to be elected. For the general election, the candidates nominated shall be ordered on the nominated list according to the respective number of votes received in the primary election, with the candidate receiving the most votes assigned the first position on the candidate list and continuing in the same manner until the number of candidates equals or does not exceed the number of representatives to be selected. Ties shall be resolved in accordance with W.S. 22
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16
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119.
(d)
For major political parties choosing not to nominate by primary election and for all minor political parties, the state central committee of the party shall provide for the party to nominate lists of candidates for representative under rules as the state central committee may adopt, including but not limited to the use of conventions, caucuses or party committees. The method for nomination shall be applied uniformly in all districts. A copy of the party's rules adopted under this subsection shall be included with the nomination method certification submitted to the secretary of state under subsection (b) of this section.
(e)
Nominations of candidate lists by parties not using a primary election shall be certified to the secretary of state by the chairman and secretary of the political party's state central committee not later than the date of the primary election specified in W.S. 22
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2
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104(b).
22
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30
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103.
General elections for representatives; apportionment of elected candidates.
(a)
The representatives elected for each house district specified in W.S. 28
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2
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119 shall be apportioned among the nominated candidate lists according to the respective number of votes received in the general election, using the greatest divisors method or Jefferson method for calculating apportionments. Ties in the apportionment of representatives shall be resolved in accordance with W.S. 22
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16
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119.
(b)
The individual representatives elected from each list of candidates shall be determined according to their ordering on the list, starting with the first candidate and proceeding until the number of representatives elected is equal to the number to which the list is entitled.
(c)
If a list is entitled to more representatives elected than there were candidates nominated on that list, all of the candidates from the exhausted list are deemed to be elected, with the remaining available positions for representative apportioned among the unexhausted lists according to the respective number of votes.
Section 2.
W.S. 22
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2
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117(a), 22
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4
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303, 22
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5
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215, 22
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5
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304(c), 22
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6
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120(a)(iii), (iv), (vii) and (ix), 22
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6
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121(a), 22
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6
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122 and 22
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16
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103(a)(ii) and (c)(viii)(C)(I) are amended to read:
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2
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117.
Vote required for election; ratification.
(a)
Partisan and nonpartisan candidates who receive the largest number of votes for each office to be filled at the general election are elected.
State representatives shall be apportioned by votes for lists as provided in W.S. 22
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30
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103.
Nothing in this election code shall be deemed to authorize any election in Wyoming to be conducted through ranked choice voting. Any existing or future ordinance enacted or adopted by a county, municipality or any other governmental entity that purports to authorize ranked choice voting in violation of this subsection is void. As used in this subsection, "ranked choice voting" means a voting method that allows voters to rank candidates for an office in order of preference and has ballots cast to be tabulated in multiple rounds following the elimination of a candidate until the candidate or candidates with the most votes are declared winners, or any other system that allows a voter to vote for more than the number of candidates permitted to fill a particular office.
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4
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303.
Nomination of candidates.
Minor parties may nominate candidates to be placed on the general election ballot only by party convention
, subject to the nomination of candidates for the office of state representative under W.S. 22
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30
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102(d)
. Under no circumstances shall a minor political party nominate by the primary election process.
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5
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215.
Nomination of partisan candidates and write
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in candidates.
On each party ballot the candidate or candidates equal in number to the number to be elected to each office who receive the largest number of votes shall be nominated and shall be entitled to have their names printed on the ballot for the next general election.
Nomination of candidates for the office of state representative shall be in accordance with W.S. 22
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30
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101 through 22
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30
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103.
A write
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in candidate shall not be nominated and shall not be entitled to have his name printed on the ballot for the next general election unless he received at least twenty
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five (25) write
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in votes in the primary election and is a registered voter in the political party for which he was nominated on the day of the primary election. An unsuccessful candidate for office at a primary election whose name is printed on any party ballot may not accept nomination for the same office at the next general election.
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5
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304.
Qualifications and number of signers required.
(c)
For a district partisan election, a petition shall be signed by registered electors, resident in the district and eligible to vote for the petitioner, numbering not less than two percent (2%) of the total number of votes cast for the office in that particular district in the last general election.
If a district's boundaries have changed since the last general election, then the required number of petition signatures shall not be less than two percent (2%) of the number of registered voters in the current district boundaries at the close of day on the day immediately preceding the primary election.
For the nomination of candidates for state representative, the required number of petition signatures shall be further divided by the number of representatives to be elected from the district.
22
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6
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120.
Format of general election ballot.
(a)
The general election ballot shall be printed in substantial compliance with this format:
(iii)
On the second line shall be printed the
same
following
instructions
:
as prescribed for primary elections in W.S. 22
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6
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119
"To vote for a person whose name or a list of names that is printed on the ballot, mark the square immediately adjacent to the name of the person or list for whom you desire to vote. To vote for a person whose name is not printed on the ballot, write the person's name in the blank space provided for that purpose and mark the square immediately adjacent to the name of the person."
;
(iv)
The designation of offices and the applicable term of office shall be printed preceding the names
and lists
of candidates for the office;
(vii)
Except for elections for state representatives in accordance with W.S. 22
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30
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101 through 22
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30
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103, t
he names of partisan party candidates, if candidates have filed, and independent candidates, if candidates have filed, shall be printed in a separate column or columns, row or rows, and the name of the party represented or the word "Independent" shall be printed directly above the candidate's name or at the end of the row. If there are a number of candidates representing a party, or independents, the county clerk at his discretion may designate a separate vertical column or columns, or row or rows to said candidates and print the name of said party or the word "Independent" at the top of the column or beginning of the row;
(ix)
Except for elections for state representatives in accordance with W.S. 22
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30
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101 through 22
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30
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103, f
or offices to which more than one (1) person is to be elected, the names of candidates in each column running for the office shall be offset or staggered to prevent two (2) names from appearing directly opposite each other;
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6
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121.
Political party ballot position on general election ballot; order of candidates' names.
(a)
Political party position shall be determined on the general election ballot according to the number of votes received by each party within the county for the office of representative in congress at the last preceding general election.
The party receiving the highest number of votes shall appear first following the names of the offices to be voted for and other parties shall follow in the order of their respective numbers of such votes.
The order of any provisional parties will be drawn by the secretary of state.
Any independent candidates shall appear following the last party and shall be listed in alphabetical order, subject to rotation.
When more than one (1) candidate is to be elected to a particular office
except for elections for state representatives under W.S. 22
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30
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101 through 22
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30
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103
, the names of candidates shall be printed in alphabetical order, subject to rotation, on all ballots for electronic and machine voting systems as defined by W.S. 22
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1
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102.
22
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6
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122.
Rotation of candidates' names; equal lines on voting machines.
Except for elections for state representatives under W.S. 22
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30
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101 through 22
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30
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103, t
he names of candidates for each office shall be rotated on all ballots by precinct for all elections. In each county the name of each candidate shall appear substantially an equal number of times at the top, at the bottom, and in each intermediate place. In a voting machine polling place, if candidates for the same office occupy more than one (1) line on the voting machine, the number of names appearing on each line shall be as nearly equal as possible.
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16
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103.
County canvass procedures.
(a)
Prior to the county canvass, the county clerk shall:
(ii)
Summarize the number of votes cast in each precinct for every candidate
and list of candidates
appearing on the ballot and the total votes cast for write
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in candidates, and upon each ballot proposition;
(c)
The county canvassing board shall:
(viii)
Ensure abstracts contain the following information:
(C)
The full name of each of the following receiving votes:
(I)
Candidates
and lists of candidates
printed on the ballot;
Section 3.
W.S. 28
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2
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119 is repealed and recreated to read:
28
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2
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119.
House legislative districts; number of representatives.
(a)
Subsection (b) of this section creates legislative districts for the Wyoming house of representatives, consisting of the numbered legislative districts contained therein. There shall be a number of representatives elected from each house legislative district as specified in subsection (b) of this section.
(b)
House districts shall consist of the entirety of the geographic areas of the counties, with the number of representatives to be elected from each district as follows:
(i)
House district 1: Natrona county; nine (9) representatives;
(ii)
House district 2: Campbell county and Crook county; six (6) representatives;
(iii)
House district 3: Laramie county; eleven (11) representatives;
(iv)
House district 4: Sweetwater county and Carbon county; six (6) representatives;
(v)
House district 5: Fremont county; four (4) representatives;
(vi)
House district 6: Albany county; four (4) representatives;
(vii)
House district 7: Sheridan county, Johnson county, Big Horn county, Washakie county and Hot Springs county; seven (7) representatives;
(viii)
House district 8: Teton county and Park county; six (6) representatives;
(ix)
House district 9: Uinta county, Lincoln county and Sublette county; five (5) representatives;
(x)
House district 10: Converse county, Platte county and Goshen county; four (4) representatives;
(xi)
House district 11: Weston county and Niobrara county; one (1) representative.
Section 4.
This act shall apply to the election of representatives to the Wyoming house of representatives commencing with the 2026 primary and general elections.
Section 5.
This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
(END)
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SF0114