Voter ID bill sails out of the House on final vote, moves to the Senate

Mar. 3—CHEYENNE — The Wyoming House of Representatives gave its final approval Wednesday to a bill tightening the state's voter identification requirements, setting it up for final approval in the Senate, where half of the body's legislators are signed on as co-sponsors.

If adopted, House Bill 75, which was advanced out of committee last week, would require voters to present a valid form of identification when voting in person, whether on Election Day or during early voting. Currently, Wyoming residents are only required to present a valid form of ID when registering to vote.

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The proposal, which has been described as a "best practices" issues by bill sponsor Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, won final approval in the House by an overwhelming 51-9 vote.

Prior to the vote, however, some lawmakers spoke out against the bill. Rep. Andi Clifford, D-Riverton, proposed an amendment that would effectively kill the bill, arguing passage of the legislation would "unequivocally" equate to voter suppression.

"I think when you look at how our election structure works, we need to do everything in our power to encourage voting, especially with our young people, our new people, our people of color and those less fortunate," Clifford said. "The bill doesn't encourage that. We want more people to participate, not less."

Gray's bill, while similar to ones that failed in past legislative sessions, had been worked to address concerns of groups such as Wyoming AARP, which had previously raised concerns about impacting seniors' ability to vote. Under HB 75, valid forms of identification would include a driver's license from Wyoming or another state, a state or tribal ID card, a valid U.S. passport, a military card, a Medicare insurance card, and a photo ID from the University of Wyoming or an in-state community college or public school.

Other members of the House disagreed with Clifford's assessment of the bill. Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, ran through the forms of ID that had been included in the bill, and he said the legislation ultimately boils down to the question of whether the Legislature or the Secretary of State should set the parameters for voting.

"I don't believe this suppresses anyone," Zwonitzer said. "I may have agreed with that before the second reading amendments, but the bill as it stands now, who are we suppressing?"

Speaking against Clifford's amendment, Gray noted the House had adopted an amendment on second reading allowing fees to be waived for state ID cards obtained only for the purpose of voting. Other amendments, such as one to include out-of-state driver's licenses as acceptable forms of ID, have ensured nobody will be disenfranchised, Gray said.

"It's important that we continue to strengthen our election processes to ensure public confidence, and the more confidence people have, the more they will participate," Gray said. "That's what we all want."

Clifford ultimately withdrew her amendment, though she did so while maintaining the legislation sets "bad voting policy."

"The narrative of this bill making our Equality State the gold standard, that you have to have an ID to be able to vote, it's just one I'm not interested in moving forward," Clifford said. "What this bill does is pose a real threat to our democracy. I don't want to be the first Northern Arapaho woman, and the last, to serve in this body."

The focus on election integrity has not been limited to Wyoming, as lawmakers in several states have introduced legislation to impose more stringent voting requirements following a 2020 election in which President Donald Trump made many unsubstantiated claims about rampant voter fraud.

Following the 51-9 final vote in its originating chamber, House Bill 75 will now head to the Senate for further consideration.

Tom Coulter is the Wyoming

Tribune Eagle's state government

reporter. He can be reached at

tcoulter@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3124. Follow him on

Twitter at @tomcoulter_.