Better Wyoming Narrative Guides:
How to talk about Wyoming primary elections....
...when you want to increase voter turnout!
INTRODUCTION
Primary elections in Wyoming are extremely important. Many general elections in Wyoming only have one candidate running. Most of the rest have only one candidate with any chance to win. This means that, in most offices, whoever won their primary election has effectively already won! These offices usually include:
- Governor
- Secretary of State
- Wyoming’s entire Congressional delegation
- Most seats in the Wyoming Legislature
- Most county-level seats like commissioner or sheriff
Primary elections can be decided by just a handful of votes, and often feature candidates with critically different views. Small numbers of voters are making major decisions about our communities.
WHAT'S STOPPING PRIMARY VOTERS? What the research tells us...
Many voters believe that the stakes of primary elections are lower than the general elections, and that the “cost” of voting is greater. Also, there isn’t the same social pressure to vote in primaries. On top of this, folks may feel that they’re not educated enough to vote in primaries. It’s our job to persuade them otherwise!
We have to tell our Wyoming neighbors: If you’re waiting until November to vote, you’ve already missed your chance to decide which candidate will represent you!
SOME DOs & DON’Ts
When we talk about voting in the primaries, research gives us some important starting points to consider about what does and does not work:
DOES HELP
Connecting voting to issues. Whether it’s healthcare, public education, housing, public lands, or other things that impact people’s lives and communities, helping people understand how their vote will impact issues will motivate them.
Framing voting as something we all can participate in, rather than something you do alone. This could be in the form of “social pressure” (i.e. “I vote in the primary. Do you?”) or “collective action” (i.e. “When people like us get together and all vote, we can make a difference!”).
Illustrating how small numbers of voters have a big influence on our state and communities. (i.e. “Senator Jim Anderson won by 30 votes in the 2024 Primary Election and he is the chairman of the committee that oversees business and economic development. The decisions he makes directly impact what opportunities businesses may have.”)
DOES NOT HELP
Giving people information on how to vote without any further context. By itself, simply educating people about poll locations, etc., does not increase their likelihood to vote.
Telling people simply that this is an important election or that voting, in general, is important. People are motivated to vote by issues and by candidates. Saying “Vote because it’s important!” without further information is not effective.
FOUR STEPS TO MOTIVATE PRIMARY VOTING
Step 1: EXPLAIN WHY PRIMARIES MATTER
Briefly and clearly explain that primary elections decide, in most cases, who will hold office in Wyoming.
- Most of the people whose decisions impact your life and community are decided in the primary elections, not the general elections. These include:
ALL STATEWIDE RACES (Governor, Secretary of State & other statewide offices, and Wyoming’s entire Congressional delegation)
MOST STATE LEGISLATIVE RACES
MOST COUNTY-LEVEL RACES (Like county commissioner, clerk, and sheriff)
- The only elections commonly decided in Wyoming general elections are races for city council and school board, which are nonpartisan.
- That means that if you care about public lands, healthcare, education, or other important issues that impact your life and community, the decisions about who will be making laws about them will be made in August. You need to make your voice heard in the primary election.
Step 2: EMPHASIZE WHY THEIR VOTE MATTERS (really!)
Briefly explain why, in Wyoming primaries, their vote really does matter.
- A very small portion of Wyoming’s overall population votes in the primary elections. A tiny group decides who represents the rest of us. Just by voting, you can help change that!
DID YOU KNOW, in 2024...
- Nearly one-third of elections for the Wyoming House—23 races in all—were determined by less than 250 votes. Twelve of those races were decided by fewer than 100 votes. Several legislative elections came down to a dozen or fewer votes!
- Out-of-state groups take advantage of our low turnout to push their extremist political agendas in the primaries. Simply by voting in the primaries, you can push back against extreme agendas!
Step 3: TIE THEIR VOTE TO THE ISSUES...
Clearly emphasize how the issues people care about are decided in primary elections
If you want to have a say in how our schools are funded, what your access to healthcare is, or whether the state protects your public land access, voting in the Primary Election in August is where you can have power over your government.
Please refer to this page (section "Your Vote, Your State, Your Future") for reference.
Step 4: THE BASICS
Ensure they have information on how to vote.
Again, just telling people how to vote will not increase voting numbers - something we urgently need to do. But this information is still important!
This page (section "Voting is Easy in Wyoming with the Right Information") has the details you need.