Dear editor:
The DOGE effort last year was about cutting government waste, reducing regulations, and streamlining bureaucracy.
In contrast, Sec. of State Chuck Gray and others are advancing an agenda that grows government, increases unnecessary regulations and imposes government overreach and unfunded mandates.
We need to DOGE these wasteful efforts by killing this package of so-called “election reform” bills this February when the legislature meets.
Why wasteful? Because these bills are fabricated on myths and fear-mongering, not reality. Wyoming has some of the most secure elections in all of America.
Let’s examine the facts:
According to the conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation (see https://electionfraud.heritage.org/), in the last 25 years there have been 5 cases of documented voter fraud in Wyoming.
One of those was a sitting legislator who lied about her address; two were a couple who claimed they still lived in Evansville; and the other was a felon who had moved here from Alaska and voted in two elections, so count that as two cases.
During that time, approximately 4.5 million ballots were cast in Wyoming, making for an annual voter fraud rate of 0.00011% in a quarter century. That’s 1 every 5 years.
We need to be aware of politicians using this so-called “election integrity” topic as a platform to run for some future office.
They’ll pound their chest as having “cleaned up” some election mess that didn’t exist in the first place.
It’s a myth that elections are being stolen by one single vote every five years. Our Wyoming election checks and balances work.
These zealots are bringing dysfunctional Washington, DC performative politics to Wyoming.
They are not grounded in our Wyoming experience. We don’t need this false “I know best” oversight telling our counties what to do.
Our county governments – specifically, the local Clerk’s offices – have been running our elections safely for decades. They have real on-the-ground, professional expertise.
Who do you trust? I trust the local, experienced folks I know and see working hard every election season – the ones who are accessible, accountable and elected directly by us.
If you have questions about election integrity – talk to them. That’s the democracy I want – close to the people.
As the late and much beloved State Senator John Schiffer once observed to me, “this is Wyoming – if you see a snake, you kill a snake.”
We all need to kill this snake.
Sincerely,
Steff Kessler, Lander
