CHAPTER 26 - OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

(a) The following acts in connection with or related to the election process or an election, if knowingly and willfully committed, are felony offenses punishable by not more than five (5) years' imprisonment in the state penitentiary or a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), or both:

(i) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 40, § 2.

(ii) Unlawful opening of a ballot box;

(iii) Unlawful opening of a voting machine;

(iv) Unlawful possession of a key;

(v) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 40, § 2.

(vi) Falsifying election documents;

(vii) False swearing;

(viii) Offering a bribe;

(ix) Accepting a bribe;

(a) Registration offenses consist of performing any of the following acts in connection with or related to the election process or an election:

(i) Signing or offering to sign an application to register when not a qualified elector or to register under a false name or residence address;

(ii) Soliciting, procuring, aiding, abetting, inducing or attempting to solicit, procure, aid, abet or induce a person to register under the name of any other person, or a false name, or to register when not a qualified elector;

(iii) Destroying or altering a registration record when not authorized by law;

(iv) False swearing after being challenged.

(b) Unless otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, registration offenses are misdemeanor offenses punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00).

(c) Registration offenses committed with the intent to deceive a registration official are high misdemeanor offenses punishable by not more than one (1) year imprisonment, a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both.

(d) Second or subsequent offenses under subsection (c) of this section are felony offenses punishable by not more than five (5) years imprisonment, a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), or both.

(e) The county sheriff shall investigate registration offenses at the request of a county clerk who has reasonable cause to believe that a person has committed a registration offense. After an investigation and a finding that the allegation has merit, the county sheriff shall refer the matter to the district attorney for prosecution in the appropriate courts of this state.

Unlawful opening of a ballot box consists of opening a ballot box or inspecting or removing the contents thereof without lawful authority, or conspiring with others so to open a ballot box.

Unlawful opening of a voting machine consists of opening, unlocking, inspecting, tampering with, resetting or adjusting a voting machine without lawful authority, or conspiring with others to do so.

Unlawful possession of a key consists of the possession at any time of a key to a voting machine or ballot box, or making a duplicate thereof, unless authorized by law.

(a) False voting consists of performing any of the following acts in connection with or related to the election process or an election:

(i) Voting, or offering to vote, when not a qualified elector entitled to vote at the election;

(ii) Voting, or offering to vote, in the name of another person or under a false name;

(iii) Voting, or offering to vote, in a precinct other than that in which qualified to vote;

(iv) Voting, or offering to vote, more than once in an election.

(b) Unless otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, false voting is a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00).

(c) False voting committed with the knowledge of not being a qualified elector entitled to vote at the election or in that precinct is a high misdemeanor offense punishable by not more than one (1) year imprisonment, a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both.

(e) The county sheriff shall investigate acts of false voting at the request of a county clerk who has reasonable cause to believe that a person has committed false voting. After an investigation and a finding that the allegation has merit, the county sheriff shall refer the matter to the district attorney for prosecution in the appropriate courts of this state.

(a) Falsifying election documents consists of performing any of the following acts with the intent to deceive or mislead an elector or an election official:

(i) Printing, distributing or displaying false instructions for voting or for the conduct of an election;

(ii) Printing, distributing or displaying any official ballot, sample ballot or pretended ballot which includes the name of a person not entitled by law to be on the ballot, or omits the name of a person entitled by law to be on the ballot, or otherwise contains false information or headings;

(iii) Defacing, altering, forging, making false entries in or changing in any way a petition, certificate of nomination, registration record or election return required by law;

(iv) Preparing or submitting a false certificate of nomination, registration record or election return.

False swearing consists of taking an oath required by the Election Code with the knowledge that the thing or matter sworn to is not true and correct.

(a) Offering bribe consists of willfully advancing, paying, offering to pay or causing to be paid, or promising, directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable thing to a person, for any of the following purposes:

(i) To induce a person to vote or refrain from voting for or against a candidate or ballot proposition or to sign or not sign a petition;

(ii) To induce an election official to mark, alter, suppress or change a ballot that has been cast, an election return, any certificate of election, or petition.

Accepting a bribe consists of knowingly accepting any payment or promise of payment, directly or indirectly, of money or other valuable thing for any of the unlawful purposes specified in W.S. 22-26-109.

(a) Intimidation consists of:

(i) Inducing, or attempting to induce, fear in an election official or elector by use of threats of force, violence, harm or loss, or any form of economic retaliation, for the purpose of impeding or preventing the free exercise of the elective franchise or the impartial administration of the Election Code; or

(ii) Soliciting the contribution of funds, other items of value or election assistance to the campaign of any candidate, candidate’s committee, political action committee or sponsors of a ballot proposition, by use of threats of physical violence or any form of economic or official retaliation.

(b) It is not a defense to a prosecution under this section that the defendant did not in fact possess the ability to carry out the threat made.

(a) Unless a different penalty is specifically provided in this code, the following acts, if knowingly and willfully committed, are misdemeanor offenses punishable by not more than six (6) months in a county jail or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or both:

(i) Electioneering too close to a polling place;

(ii) Disturbing a polling place;

(iii) Unlawful possession of alcoholic or malt beverages at a polling place;

(iv) Accepting or expending any money or incurring any obligation on behalf of any candidate for nomination or election to office without such candidate's prior written approval;

(v) Employer interfering with political rights of employees;

(vi) Discharging an employee because of nomination for or election to political office;

(vii) Causing or attempting to cause a candidate to withdraw or refuse nomination or election;

(viii) Violating W.S. 22-2-113;

(ix) Violating W.S. 22-25-101 through 22-25-115;

(x) Filing or signing a false statement of contributions and expenditures required by W.S. 22-25-106.

(a) Electioneering too close to a polling place or absentee polling place under W.S. 22-9-125 when voting is being conducted, consists of any form of campaigning, including the display of campaign signs or distribution of campaign literature, the soliciting of signatures to any petition or the canvassing or polling of voters, except exit polling by news media, within one hundred (100) yards on the day of a primary, general or special election and within one hundred (100) feet on all other days, of any public entrance to the building in which the polling place is located. This section shall not apply to bumper stickers affixed to a vehicle while parked within or passing through the distance specified in this subsection, provided that:

(i) There is only one (1) bumper sticker per candidate affixed to the vehicle;

(ii) Bumper stickers are no larger than four (4) inches high by sixteen (16) inches long; and

(iii) The vehicle is parked within the distance specified in this subsection only during the time the elector is voting.

Disturbing a polling place consists of creating any disorder or disruption at a polling place on election day, or absentee polling place under W.S. 22-9-125, or interfering with the orderly conduct of an election.

Unlawful possession of alcoholic or malt beverages at a polling place consists of the use or possession of any alcoholic or malt beverages by an election official while performing his official duties or the use or possession by any person of these beverages in a polling place during an election.

Interfering with an employee's political rights consists of an employer making, adopting, enforcing or attempting to enforce any order, rule, regulation or policy forbidding or preventing any employee from becoming a candidate for public office or for a position on any public board or commission or making, adopting, enforcing or attempting to enforce any order, rule, or regulation controlling or attempting to control such employee's vote on any question at any public election, or in any public position or board or in any office to which such employee may be appointed or elected.

Discharging an employee because of nomination for or election to office consists of any employer discharging or causing to leave his, or their employ, temporarily or permanently, any person or persons because he or they have been nominated as a candidate for or elected to any position of honor, trust or emolument, to be voted for at any election, held in pursuance of the laws of this state.

Causing or attempting to cause a candidate to withdraw or refuse nomination or election consists of any person, or agent, or officer, or any company, or corporation either causing or attempting to cause any person or persons nominated as candidates or elected at any election, to withdraw, or refrain from accepting such nomination or election by threatening loss of employment, business or patronage, if he or they accept such candidacy or election, or making it a condition of employment, business or patronage, that such candidacy or election shall not be accepted.

Violation of the Election Code by an official consists of the willful violation of the Election Code by any official or by any deputy or assistant official, or the willful failure or refusal of any official or assistant to perform an act or duty required of him by the Election Code. Any official, deputy or assistant who commits a violation of the Election Code is guilty of a felony and, in addition to the penalty prescribed by W.S. 22-26-101, is subject to removal from office in a proceeding instituted for that purpose.

If the Election Code does not impose a specific penalty for the willful violation of a provision prohibiting a specific act or requiring the discharge of a specific duty, whoever knowingly commits a violation or fails to discharge the duty is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by the penalty prescribed by W.S. 22-26-112.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person may file a written complaint with the secretary of state regarding any violation of the Election Code by any statewide or legislative candidate, committee or organization or any violation of W.S. 22-25-106(d) by a county party central committee. If the secretary of state finds that the complaint has merit and suspects a violation of the Election Code, he shall refer the complaint to the Wyoming attorney general for investigation and prosecution. The attorney general may prosecute the complaint in the district court for the district in which the violation was alleged to occur or in the district court for Laramie county if the violation is reasonably believed to occur in more than one (1) judicial district.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person may file a written complaint with the county clerk regarding any violation of the Election Code by any county or municipal candidate, committee or organization. If the county clerk finds that the complaint has merit and suspects a violation of the Election Code, the county clerk shall refer the complaint to the district attorney for the county in which the candidate resides for investigation and prosecution.

(c) Complaints that the secretary of state violated the Election Code shall be filed with the attorney general for investigation and prosecution. Complaints that the county clerk violated the Election Code shall be filed with the district attorney for the county for investigation and prosecution.

(d) The secretary of state or the county clerk may refer any suspected violation of the Election Code to the appropriate prosecuting authority as provided in this section.

(e) A complaint of a violation of W.S. 22-26-102 or 22-26-106 shall be filed with the county clerk for the county in which the elector resides and be investigated by the county sheriff as provided in those sections. If the county clerk or other appropriate official specified in W.S. 22-26-102(e) or 22-26-106(e) fails or refuses for any reason to take action on the elector's complaint, the elector may file a complaint with the Wyoming attorney general.

(f) As used in this section:

(i) "County or municipal candidate, committee or organization" means any county or municipal candidate, candidate committee for county or municipal office, political action committee for county or municipal candidate, political action committee or organization supporting or opposing a municipal initiative or referendum petition drive or ballot proposition within a county or political subdivision, county party central committee or any other person not identified in paragraph (ii) of this subsection;

(ii) "Statewide or legislative candidate, committee or organization" means any statewide or legislative candidate, candidate committee for statewide or legislative office, political action committee or organization supporting or opposing any statewide or legislative candidate or any statewide initiative or referendum petition drive or ballot proposition, or state party central committee.