JACKSON, Wyo. — As Teton County residents headed to the polls on Tuesday, Aug. 20, many expressed frustration with a recent state law that shortened the window for switching party affiliations.
In March 2023, House Bill 103 changed Wyoming’s semi-open primary to a closed primary by requiring voters to decide which party they will vote for before candidates are announced. Voters can no longer change parties at any point, a practice sometimes known as “crossover voting.”
“Unfortunately, I had made the mistake of maintaining my status as an Independent voter today,” former Jackson Mayor Sarah Flitner told Buckrail after voting at the Teton County Library. “I appreciate all the Election Officials and all the people doing their job today, but I’m heartbroken that the rules have changed so drastically. The ballot looked like nothing that I’ve ever seen in my entire career.”
Beppe Amodio of east Jackson was among several people exiting the polls who switched his affiliation from Democrat to Republican for the 2022 primary. He wanted to be able to vote for former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney in her ultimately unsuccessful bid to keep her seat against challenger Harriet Hageman. Beppo said he couldn’t switch back to Democrat in time for the election.
“I think a lot of people didn’t know that the voting laws changed,” Beppo told Buckrail.
There were 406 write-ins among registered Republicans for County Commission candidates in this year’s primary.
“I transferred my registration to Republican so I could vote for Liz Cheney in the last primary, which did a whole hell of a lot of good,” said Holly O’Brian of Jackson.
Election Judge Amanda Padilla, working at the Teton County Library polling station, explained, “They are cracking down on people making that last-minute decision. They want people to commit to their party prior to knowing who all the candidates are, which is interesting.”
In total, 3,505 ballots were cast in the primary in Teton County. Of those, 1,226 were cast by registered Democrats and 2,178 were cast by registered Republicans.
The new rule banning party changes after candidates were announced only applied to the primary election since it’s closed. Voters can change party affiliations for the Nov. 5 general election from Sept. 20th up until the election, according to the County Clerk’s Office.
