For years, Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, saw the Legislature defeat the “crossover” voting ban his party expected him to deliver. With the bill on the verge of victory this session, and some Republicans correctly calling it unconstitutional and a threat to democracy, he exploded.
“It’s been probably the most vetted bill this body has ever seen,” Biteman said of preventing Wyoming voters from choosing their party on primary day. “It’s been shot at. It’s been nuclear-bombed. It’s been fumigated. It’s been thrown in the garbage can. It’s been beaten, dragged, you name it.”
Hyperbolic, but these bills have been thrown in the trash year after year, only to be revived.
I would have preferred shredding the bill, burning it and throwing the ashes out at sea, but it would have only delayed the inevitable: Biteman and his cronies would tape the bill back together and assign it to a friendly committee.
Gov. Mark Gordon allowed House Bill 103, “Political party affiliation and changes,” to become law without his signature, a good indication of how bad this stink bomb really is. He knew the House and Senate would override a veto, and he didn’t want to put his name on a law certain to be challenged.
It bars voters from changing party affiliation during the 96 days before a primary. The May 1 deadline comes before candidate filing starts, so voters must choose their party without even knowing who is running.
The governor said he didn’t sign HB 103 because “it adds uncertainty to the voting process.”
Translation: When people try to vote in the next primary election and thousands aren’t given a ballot of the party they want, don’t blame me.
Biteman’s latest attempt was killed by a Senate committee. That left HB 103 as the crossover ban’s last chance.
The bill cruised through the House, but was “killed” by Senate Corporations. That didn’t matter — the zombie was revived and sent to the Senate Revenue Committee, which loved it.
The Senate approved HB 103 nearly 2-to-1. It survived 12 hostile amendment attempts. That’s a sign that a bill isn’t ready for prime time, but Biteman and others would not be denied, no matter how well-reasoned the opposition’s arguments were.
Opponents threw everything they had at the bill. The charge was led by Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander.
“Leadership of the majority party often is disappointed when someone that is not adhering to the litmus test squeezes through the primary,” Case said. “Lo and behold, someone might come out that’s a little bit more moderate.”
“Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should, and it doesn’t make it right … I don’t think this bill does at all what the intent is,” Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, said. “You’ve heard the old saying about the camel having its nose under the tent? Well, folks, you’re about to let a herd of RINOs in.”
“Everyone will become, no matter what their ideology, a Republican,” predicted Sen. Stephan Pappas, R-Cheyenne. “I don’t think that’s what the Republican Party wants. I don’t think it’s what other parties want, either, but we’re forcing their hand.”
The nefarious “meddling” in Republican politics alleged by Biteman will not be changed by a crossover ban. Pappas is right; if for nothing more than convenience, Democrats will stay registered Republicans. The same people the GOP fears will continue to vote in Republican primaries.
Case’s amendment to reduce the “blackout” period when voters can’t change party affiliation from 96 days to 45 days, when absentee ballots are available, was rejected.
“Make no mistake — [in HB 103] we’re trying to keep certain people from voting in elections that are important to them,” said Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie. “We call it meddling, we call it crossover. We have terms and euphemisms; we have concepts of how this is bad and evil behavior. There’s no evil, there’s no mischief, it’s just democracy.”
Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, the only other Democrat in the chamber, asked the 29 Republicans, “Who is this bill aimed at? The two of us? I don’t think so.”
Gierau said the bill is Republican leaders “telling your party who you’re going to vote for, who you’re going to see on the ballot,” he said. “You’re not going to know who they are before you have a chance to vote for them, but, by golly, you’re going to vote for the people we say.”
The GOP has always been welcome to hold its own primary, by its own rules, without a legislative “fix.” They’d simply have to spend roughly $1 million to put on the contest each cycle, instead of letting taxpayers pick up the tab. They’re not so opposed to government funding when the party is the beneficiary.
In the end, though, this isn’t about ideology. It’s about the corrupting influence of power. The GOP holds 86 of Wyoming’s 93 legislative seats, all five statewide elected offices and the three-member federal delegation. Now it’s requiring voters to choose sides without knowing its candidates. If anyone has a better example of the dangers of concentrated power, please let me know.
The Drake’s Take is a weekly column by veteran Wyoming journalist Kerry Drake, and produced by WyoFile.com, a nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
