The Wyoming legislature convened on January 8. According to this news story, the President of the Wyoming Senate, Tony Ross (R-Cheyenne) addressed the Senate with a speech, and in that speech he “deplored the emergence of fringe parties with extreme agendas that have an attack-only strategy.”

The parties with candidates on the ballot in Wyoming last year were Republican, Democratic, Libertarian (all of which are long-established in Wyoming), and two parties that appeared on the ballot for the first time, the Constitution Party and the Country Party.

As the story points out, the Wyoming Senate now consists of 26 Republicans and 4 Democrats. Thanks to Don Wills for the link.

The Post-Star of Glens Falls, New York, has this interesting article about all the reasons it will be difficult for New York state to begin permitting early voting. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

On January 8, two Wyoming legislators introduced HB 96, which makes it easier for a party to remain ballot-qualified. The bill says that when a party meets the vote test, it is then qualified for the next two elections, not just the next election. The sponsors are Representative Kendell Kroeker (R-Evansville) and Senator Cale Case (R-Lander).

This idea is especially relevant to Wyoming, because unlike a majority of states, not every statewide office counts toward meeting the vote test. The only offices that count are U.S. House, Governor, or Secretary of State. Of those three offices, only the first is up in presidential years. But in midterm years, the vote for three offices can be used to keep a party on the ballot.

Other states that provide for four years of qualification, instead of just two, after the retention test is met, are Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Those states apply the idea, no matter whether the vote test is met in a midterm year or a presidential year. Separate from those states, these are the states in which meeting the vote test lasts four years, but it only works if the vote test is met in a midterm year: Indiana, New York, South Dakota. These are the states in which meeting the vote test lasts four years but it only works if the test is met in a presidential year: Kentucky, North Carolina, and West Virginia.

The Country Party did the work of finding sponsors for this Wyoming bill.