Wyoming Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Crossover-Voting Ban, Clearing Rules for November Midterms

The Wyoming Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously upheld the state's crossover-voting ban, ruling that the 96-day "freeze period" during which voters may not change party affiliation before an election "is not an unconstitutionally onerous burden on Appellants' right to vote and does not violate equal protection guarantees," according to reporting by The Associated Press via WTOP News. The ban, adopted by the Republican-supermajority Wyoming Legislature in 2023, blocks voters from switching parties in the run-up to primaries, a change enacted after some Democratic voters organized to register as Republicans in 2022 to support then-U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney in her primary loss to Harriet Hageman. The court balanced the right to vote against the legislature's constitutional duty to "secure the purity of elections," writing that "the burden of the freeze period is 'slight'" and that "the freeze does not lock voters into a party. It sets a deadline." The decision clears the way for the November 3, 2026 general election to proceed under rules in place since 2023.

What happened

The ruling resolved a legal challenge that began in 2024 as a suit over Wyoming's "sore loser law" and was expanded in 2025 to also target the state's closed primaries and party-affiliation restrictions. After losing in Laramie County District Court, the plaintiffs narrowed their appeal to the 96-day freeze period alone, per Cowboy State Daily.

The court held that voting rights are fundamental under the Wyoming Constitution but that "strict scrutiny does not automatically apply." Applying strict scrutiny to every election law, the justices reasoned, would "paralyze the Legislature's ability to perform its separate constitutional duty to administer elections." The panel also rejected the state's argument that primaries are not "elections" in the constitutional sense, a partial loss for the defense that did not change the outcome.

Secretary of State Chuck Gray, the named defendant in the case, celebrated the ruling. "Today's Supreme Court ruling is a huge win for Wyoming elections, which we have consistently worked to defend," Gray said, adding that "banning crossover schemes and protecting Wyoming's primaries have been cornerstones of our administration's election integrity agenda since I took my oath of office in 2023."

Plaintiffs' attorney Bill Schwartz responded that his clients were disappointed. "We are of course disappointed the Court declined to give fundamental voting rights the preeminent weight we believe our founders intended," Schwartz said. He added that the plaintiffs "take some solace the Court rejected Secretary Gray's radical notion that our state constitution provides no protection for the fundamental right to vote in state funded primaries."

Why it matters

The decision entrenches a closed-primary system in one of the nation's most Republican-dominated states at a moment when party-affiliation rules have become a recurring battleground nationwide. The 2022 Cheney-Hageman primary, in which Democratic voters publicly organized to cross over, was the immediate catalyst for the 2023 ban, and the court's ruling means similar crossover efforts will not be possible before future Wyoming primaries.

The ruling also carries weight beyond Wyoming's borders because of its treatment of strict scrutiny. The court affirmed that a fundamental right to vote exists under the state constitution, a holding plaintiffs framed as a rejection of the secretary of state's broader position, while simultaneously holding that legislatures retain room to regulate election mechanics without surviving the most demanding form of judicial review. How state courts weigh voting rights against legislative authority over elections is a live question in many states, and Wyoming's framework, fundamental right yes, automatic strict scrutiny no, offers one answer other courts may cite.

Practically, the decision removes the last pending legal obstacle to the 2026 midterm rules. With the appeal resolved, Wyoming's general election on November 3 will proceed under the same affiliation deadlines that governed the 2024 cycle, and Hageman, now the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, will run under the primary system her 2022 race helped reshape.

How it is being covered

According to figures from ground.news, the story is carried by 7 outlets with a left/centre/right split of 43/43/14 percent, and 6 of the 7 sources are rated high or very high for factuality. Coverage is broadly balanced across the spectrum with no identified blindspot, though the right-leaning share is the smallest of the three, and wire distribution through The Associated Press has given the ruling a national audience beyond regional Wyoming outlets.

What to watch

Whether plaintiffs seek further review, including any petition to the Wyoming Supreme Court for rehearing or a federal question, remains to be seen, though the state constitutional framing of the appeal limits federal avenues. Legislators and the secretary of state's office may pursue additional election-law changes building on the ruling, and advocacy groups on both sides of the primary-access debate are likely to cite the decision in other states. The November 3 general election will be the first statewide test of the rules now affirmed, and turnout patterns among registered Republicans and independents will draw scrutiny from both parties.

By the numbers

Source snapshot