Wyoming voters rejected a ballot initiative Tuesday that sought to cut residential property tax by 50% on qualifying homes.
Undervotes and overvotes count as no-votes in a people’s initiative. The act could only have passed if it had won more than 50% of all ballots cast, not just valid votes under its question.
As of 10:22 pm., Laramie County voters had opposed the measure 16,940 to 12,832, with another 857 undervotes and overvotes counting against it as well.
Wyoming's other large counties: Albany, Campbell, Natrona, Sheridan, Sweetwater and Fremont, likewise opposed the measure. So did tiny, right-leaning counties like Crook, Weston, and Washakie.
Park County broke slightly in its favor.
Few intense contests bled into the general election this year for deep-red Wyoming, but locals clashed over the ballot initiative, which follows a pattern of rising home costs and property taxes starting in 2021.
The Wyoming Republican Party’s Central Committee officially backed Proposition 1.
Had it passed, the initiative would have exempted 50% of the assessed value of primary homes for people who have lived in Wyoming for at least one year, and in that home for at least six months of the prior year.
It did not apply to land, only structures, which sets it apart from other kinds of property tax relief recently passed.
The Vote NO on Prop 1 coalition issued a statement of gratitude late Tuesday.
Coalition Chair Kim Amen said, "The voters have spoken and tonight was a big win for the hard-working families of Wyoming. We hope and trust that state lawmakers will listen to the will of the voters, who said loudly that critical services like our public schools, first responders, road repairs, and libraries should receive the funding they need and that Wyoming families deserve."
No Value Cap
The measure did not contemplate a value cap like prior, Legislature-crafted bills have. For example, the 25% property tax cut the Legislature passed in 2025 only applies up to the first $1 million in home value.
With no proposed cap in play, the Legislative Service Office estimated that around 25% of the benefit from Prop. 1 would go to the residents of Wyoming’s richest county, Teton.
Because of its sizable funding streams, Teton subsidizes K-12 schools in other, poorer Wyoming counties.
Schools, local governments, and special districts rely upon property taxes, including residential. Many local authorities, including fire departments, opposed Prop. 1.
The state Constitution says that voters can pass laws by initiative, but they can’t appropriate money that way.
The initiative language cannot, and did not, contain a “backfill” provision sending other state money streams into those local entities.
Former gubernatorial candidate Brent Bien, and his campaign associates Richard Weber and Cheryl Aguiar, spearheaded the petition effort to put Prop. 1 on the ballot.
Started in 2023
On Jan. 2, 2025, Secretary of State Chuck Gray’s office announced its certification.
The office verified 30,251 total valid signatures, exceeding the 29,730 required by law. The minimum is 15% of those living in at least two-thirds of Wyoming’s counties.
But starting in about 2023, lawmakers were already working in earnest toward property tax relief.
Then-Rep. (now-Sen.) Barry Crago sponsored a successful 4% annual cap on property tax growth.
Rep. Steve Harshman sponsored an unsuccessful blockbuster bill to eliminate most property taxes in exchange for a two-cent sales tax hike statewide.
The Revenue Committee sponsored a 50% cut for long-term homeowners over 65 in 2024, and the 25% cut in 2025. Both were successful.
If Prop. 1 had passed, the Legislature could have amended it at any time, but could not have repealed it for at least two years.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
