Wyoming residents will soon need to provide proof of citizenship and residency when registering to vote following Gov. Mark Gordon’s decision Friday to allow a bill to become law without his signature.
Set to go into effect in July, the law makes Wyoming the first and only state to require proof of citizenship as part of its voter registration.
The new law also requires residents, for the first time ever, to attest that they’ve lived in the state for at least 30 days before casting a ballot. That requirement clashes with both the Wyoming Constitution and federal law, Gordon wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Chuck Gray who pressed for the measure.
“I cannot sign it as such,” the governor wrote of the new law.
The legislation was one of 45 election-related bills filed by lawmakers in the 2025 general session. The new restrictions were a top priority for Gray and the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, both of which chalked up Gordon’s decision as a win.
“Proof of citizenship and proof of residency for registering to vote are both so important,” Gray said in a press release. “Only United States citizens, and only Wyomingites, should be voting in Wyoming elections. Period.”
The new law is “also key in supporting President Trump’s pivotal work to have proof of citizenship for registering to vote with the SAVE Act at the federal level,” Gray wrote.
In the days leading up to Gordon’s decision, Gray called on the governor to sign the bill via social media posts and an op-ed published in Cowboy State Daily.
