Wyoming legislature fails to advance crossover voting ban bill

Wyoming legislators have failed to advance a bill that would have banned so-called "crossover" voting during state primaries.

The bill, which had the enthusiastic backing of former President Donald Trump, would have stopped voters from being able to change their party registration on the day of a primary. 

Those who supported the bill believed it would impede Democratic or independent voters from voting in the Republican primary, which this year means potentially voting for GOP Rep. Liz Cheney. 

In a statement last month, Trump said of the bill, "This critically important bill ensures that the voters in each party will separately choose their nominees for the General Election, which is how it should be!"

The former president, who remains influential in the GOP, has tried to get Cheney voted out of Congress since she voted in favor of impeaching him in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Cheney also serves  as the vice chairperson of the Democrat-led House panel investigating the riot. 

In her home state, Cheney is running against Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman, who significantly trails Cheney in fundraising.

However, the bill predates the Trump-Cheney feud, dating back to 2018 when candidate Mark Gordon defeated conservative businessman and major Trump supporter Foster Friess in the state GOP gubernatorial primary.

Cheney says she is not courting Democrats to turn out for her during the primary.