Wyoming committee advances bill banning unsolicited absentee ballot request mailings

Senate File 78, a bill that would bar distribution of unsolicited absentee ballot request forms, cleared the Wyoming Senate Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee after testimony from election officials, the secretary of state's office and civic groups.

The bill, introduced by Senator Hutchings, would make it unlawful for “any person except the county clerk, secretary of state, or their designee” to distribute an absentee ballot request form to a qualified elector unless that elector “specifically solicits” the request form. Senator Hutchings told the committee the measure responds to mass mailings that resembled official…