Did you know Wyoming has closed primaries?

A closed primary. What does that mean? It means that unless you are registered with a political party, you won’t be able to vote for the full slate of offices. In Wyoming, as of January 2026, there are 25,000 unaffiliated registered voters. If you are an unaffiliated voter, you’ll only get to vote for a mayor and council. That is, if you are within town limits. Those are the only nonpartisan offices. If you aren’t in a town, well you’re pretty much out of luck. Unaffiliated voters don’t get to vote for county commissioners, U.S. Representative, U.S Senate, Governor, County Sheriff, Secretary of State, County Treasurer, Wyoming House of Representatives and in some cases no vote for Wyoming Senate seats. 

Primary ballots are divided by party affiliation. Republican, Democrat, Independent, etc. Primary ballots will have the candidates registered in the same party you are. For example: If you are a Republican, only the candidates running for governor that are Republican are on your ballot. The same applies if you are a Democrat. It isn’t until the general election in November that all the candidates for a particular office will be on every ballot regardless of their or your party affiliation. 

So once again, you’ll be allowing someone else to decide who and what is going to be on the “menu”  — aka ballot — in November. May 13 is the last day you can change from unaffiliated to affiliated. Then vote on August 18. Your vote can make a difference in Wyoming and the country’s future.