Wyoming Investigates Federal Election Monitors For Monitoring Too Aggressively

CHEYENNE, WYO.—Wyoming’s attorney general is investigating two Justice Department election monitors who arrived at Laramie County polling places to protect the primary and became an item requiring protection from the federal government.

The Civil Rights Division attorneys appeared shortly after polls opened on August 18 and said they planned to interview voters about compliance with federal voting laws. County Clerk Debra Lee refused to allow interviews inside polling places. The monitors then asked about worker training, requested instructional materials, inquired how new election equipment had been purchased, and sought access to tabulators.

Wyoming law limits observation to certified poll watchers focused on registration and turnout. Lee called the federal visit poorly managed and said it disregarded state law. A Justice Department official told her the assignment had been made on short notice and that an email was sent, although it may have gone to the wrong address. Ballot security was therefore introduced by two unannounced officials asking to inspect the machines.

The department said its monitoring was meant to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law. Republican Gov. Mark Gordon described the conduct as “a bit aggressive” and “irregular” during a meeting to certify results. He asked Attorney General Keith Kautz to determine what authority the monitors had.

Gordon said he dislikes the federal government taking either Wyoming’s guns or its votes. The investigation will now establish whether Washington protected the state’s election by observing it, interfered with it by observing it, or merely forgot to copy the county clerk on the explanation.