On January 31, as already reported, the Wyoming House passed HB 173, which makes ballot access for independent candidates more difficult. As originally introduced, it raised the petition requirement from 2% of the last U.S. House vote, to 5%. It moved the petition deadline from August to May.
When it was passed on the House floor, it was amended to make the petition requirement 3% for statewide office, but 5% for legislative independent candidates. The deadline was changed from May to early June.
The bill also adds a provision saying no one can use the independent candidate procedure who is not a registered independent. If the bill becomes law, that provision would be unconstitutional as applied to independent presidential candidates. Courts have unanimously ruled that states cannot require presidential candidates who use the independent procedure to be registered independents. There are only three precedents:
1. In 2004 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in In re Nader, 956 A 2d 908, that the fact that Peter Camejo was a registered Green was not reason to keep him off the ballot as an independent candidate for vice-president in Pennsylvania. Camejo was the running mate of Ralph Nader that year.
2. In 2020 an Idaho state trial court ruled that the fact that Kanye West was a registered Republican could not be grounds for keeping him off the ballot as an independent. Idaho Democratic Party v Denney, Ada County Judicial District, cv-01-20-14470.
3. In 2020 the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the fact that Kanye West was a registered Republican could not be grounds for keeping him off the ballot in Arizona as an independent. Clayton v West, 489 P.3d 394.
Wyoming already has the most severe ballot access requirement for presidential candidates running outside the two major parties, on a percentage basis, if the easier method for getting on the ballot in each state is compared. In 2024, Wyoming was one of only five jurisdictions with fewer than four presidential candidates on the ballot. The others were New York, Illinois, North Dakota, and the District of Columbia.
