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Wyoming Republicans try to curtail Trump-endorsed Chuck Gray : NPR


A voter at the front casts her vote during the Republican primaries in Wilson, Wyo., on Aug. 16.

Jae C. Hong / AP


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Jae C. Hong / AP


A voter at the front casts her vote during the Republican primaries in Wilson, Wyo., on Aug. 16.

Jae C. Hong / AP

Wyoming’s next secretary of state is likely to be the secretary of state, a Trump-backed Republican who cheated Is called rigged 2020 election, is drawing concern from many of his fellow GOP lawmakers.

Now, those lawmakers are aiming to draft a bill to remove the ability of the secretary of state to monitor elections.

Chuck Gray is the Republican nominee for secretary of state in Wyoming. He no opponent in the general election.

Although state officials – including outgoing Secretary of State Ed Buchanan – maintained Wyoming elections were safe, Gray campaigned due to his concerns about the integrity of the elections. . During elementary school, Mr told TV stations KGWN and KCWY that he wants to ban voting boxes and oversee other reforms.

“We need all the paper ballots,” he said. “The fact that some counties have paper ballots, I think is really wrong. And we need hand checks.”

Gray also announced during the campaign that he would remove the secretary of state of state employees who did not share his vision.

Gray’s proposals, coupled with his false belief that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Donald Trump’s hands, convinced a legislative committee to act.

Republican Representative Dan Zwonitzer, who co-chairs the panel that deals with election laws in the state, told committee members he was concerned that Gray could damage the way Wyoming ran the election and that he want to change everything.

“We may be in a precarious position when it comes to election administration for the next four years,” said Zwonitizer. “And personally I would feel more confident and comfortable having a separate executive branch of government made up of five elected officials statewide overseeing the director of an election office.”

The committee approved his proposal for a voice vote.

Deputy Secretary of State Karen Wheeler said the proposal would remove all election functions from office.

“The Wyoming voter registration system, the campaign finance system, it will also eliminate anything related to candidate filing and pre-election nomination applications,” Wheeler said. . “So there’s quite a bit that would come with it, if it were to be removed from this office.”

Senator Brian Boner of the Republican state voted against creating a new electoral body because Gray was nominated to handle all aspects of office. He added that lawmakers have oversight because electoral reform would require legislative approval.

“I understand some of the concerns,” Boner said. “I think Representative Gray may have a hard time delivering on any of the promises he’s made during the campaign. But we also need to acknowledge the outcome of the election.”

Boner admitted he was a bit concerned that Gray might decide to fire some key employees. One person ignored Gray’s comments and the election director is looking for a new job.

Wheeler says that’s a real concern.

“I think you’re going to need to make sure employees still know that system inside and out – know if something goes wrong, how to fix it quickly,” she says. “These are complicated systems, they’re not something you buy ready-made.”

Gray did not comment on the proposed legislation. The committee will discuss the matter further and consider a draft bill when it meets in October.



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