CHEYENNE — At its state convention Saturday, the Wyoming Republican Party passed a bylaw allowing the party to remove elected county-level central committee members who fail to attend three meetings in a year. Most of the 314 delegates supported the measure.
The bylaw follows action the Park County Republican Party took in 2023 when it vacated the seats of 22 precinct committee members who failed to attend three consecutive meetings.
One of these seats belonged to former Wyoming U.S. Sen. Al Simpson, who expressed outrage about having his seat vacated.
Park County made its bylaw change after approval by the county party’s prior precinct committee members in 2022.
Earlier this year, the Park County GOP temporarily rescinded the action, but now all 23 GOP county parties will be expected to boot committeemen and committeewomen who miss too many meetings.
What passed Saturday is more far reaching than what was passed in Park County, as a seat is considered vacated if a precinct committee member misses any three meetings in a 365-day period.
“If a county has four meetings a year and they can’t make it to three of the meetings in one year, maybe they really ought to reconsider what they’re trying to do as far as being involved in their central committee,” said Park County GOP Committeeman Vince Vanata in support of the change.
But the measure applies much more strictly in other parts of the state like Park County, where the local GOP meets monthly.
The new bylaw does not prohibit members in any way from using proxies, people substituting for them in voting, to fill their place at meetings. Also, members who notify their committee chairs they will not be attending a meeting ahead of time won’t be penalized as that’s considered an excused absence.
Within the passed amendment, the party can also now remove central committee members for changing party affiliation, failing to register as a Republican or if convicted for a felony.
But Is It Legal?
Enforcement of the bylaw may be a question that will have to be answered in court, as precinct committee members are voted in during public elections.
What the GOP bylaw change does is equivalent to removing someone from office, similar to what takes place if someone resigns or dies, the two main scenarios for political vacancies under Wyoming law.
The bylaw change also helps escalate an ongoing position of the Wyoming Republican Party that it’s a private organization, and as such has autonomy over its membership and participation.
Vanata argued in favor of the bylaw and mentioned how precinct committee members are not required to take an oath of office, pay a bond or file a campaign finance report as required for most other elected positions.
“We’re talking about a person absenting themselves three times in 365 days,” he said. “We’re not talking about something unreasonable.”
Once precinct committee members begin serving, an argument could be made that they are operating within a private organization, but their election itself is undeniably public under the state’s election rules. Precinct committee members are voted in during state and county-run primary elections, which are open to the public as long as a voter is registered with a particular political party.
Popular, But Not Unanimous
There was some chatter throughout the convention on various topics about allowing people kicked out of the party to continue to attend meetings but not be allowed to participate as a result of their behavior.
Phillip Scheel, a Hot Springs County GOP delegate and a county commissioner, spoke against the bylaw.
“If precinct people are elected in elections, that happen through the state-county level, the same as I was elected as a county commissioner,” he said. “It’s inappropriate to have them removed any other way than specific recall measures, and that’s not what this is.”
The Park County GOP bylaw was brought, according to its supporters, as a way to get better attendance at meetings. Scheel acknowledged this as a legitimate concern, but said removing absent members entirely from their seats “is not a great idea.”
“You can ask the folks in Park County that tried this and lost the lawsuit,” he said, drawing some vocal indignation from Vanata.
Scheel was incorrect in that a lawsuit was filed about the matter. It was brought before the Wyoming GOP’s Dispute Resolution Committee, which informed the 22 Park County members they would have their seats returned “while a few legal issues are addressed.”
Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who oversees the state’s elections, did not respond to Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment about his thoughts on the legality of the bylaw.
Carbon County GOP Committeeman Joey Correnti also spoke against the bylaw and warned that it could be weaponized, as it doesn’t specify what meetings would apply. Correnti said members could “get kicked out of the party for not being at meetings they were never supposed to be at in the first place.”
Won’t Enforce
Although no option is given for its enforcement, Lincoln County GOP Chairman Lance Oviatt said he won’t uphold the bylaw as he doesn’t believe it’s legal. And he doesn’t expect any county clerk will enforce it either by removing their names as elected precinct committee members. He considers the issue similar to term limits, which he also opposes.
“The real term limits are called the ballot box,” he said.
On the flip side, he finds fault with the fact that the bylaw also doesn’t prevent members from using proxies to cover for them during their entire two years of service.
“If they use a proxy all the time, I will approach them,” he said. “To me, it doesn’t make sense to take a job if you’re not going to do it.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
