Wyoming’s Primaries Were a Preview of Trump’s Midterm Interference

Wyoming's governor, Mark Gordon, has expressed his concerns over the "aggressive" and "irregular" actions of Department of Justice employees who were present at the state's August 18 primary elections. The two monitors were part of a DOJ initiative to promote transparency in the voting process. However, their behavior reportedly troubled even Republican Governor Gordon.

He stated, "I feel very strongly about the federal government coming in and taking our guns. I don't like that. I don't like the federal government coming in and taking our votes, either."

Local and state officials were unaware of the election monitors' presence, according to Gordon. Debra Lee, the chief election officer for Wyoming's most populous county, revealed that the federal employees did not display their credentials until requested to do so. Once informed, they proceeded to ask questions deemed to be outside the scope of federal voting rights laws. These questions pertained to the length and timing of poll worker training, the acquisition of new election equipment, and the examination of tabulators.

The Wyoming attorney general is currently investigating the incident. The Trump administration has indicated plans to deploy up to 1,000 election monitors during the midterm elections, a move that Democratic lawmakers allege is intended to intimidate voters and pressure local officials. Such concerns have been echoed by Republican governors and candidates in various states, even as some of them lost primaries after amplifying the president's claims of widespread election fraud.

One such candidate is Maine Republican gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles, who has expressed interest in having the Department of Homeland Security's ICE presence at the polls, having previously called Trump's deportation czar Tom Homan.