Poll: Does Wyoming Need Term Limits For Elected Officials?
The 2022 election season is underway, with many races featuring incumbents versus political newcomers.
While many officials running for re-election are doing so after only one term in office, many legislative races, as well as city and county offices, feature long-time incumbents who want another two or four-year term.
It's perhaps worth mentioning that Wyoming voters in 1992 overwhelmingly approved a term-limits ballot initiative, with 77 percent voting in favor versus 23 percent who voted no. But the Wyoming Supreme Court overturned that vote on the grounds that any term limits law would need to be implemented through a constitutional amendment, not by a simple ballot initiative.
The court did not say that term limits could not be implemented at all in the state, but rather that the more difficult process of amending the state constitution is required to do so. As recently as 2021, a resolution sponsored by Rep. Chuck Gray [R-Natrona County] was put forward in the legislature.
House Joint Resolution 10 would have started the process of proposing a constitutional amendment implementing terms limits for state offices including the five statewide elected officials and the state legislature,
The proposal did not include city and county offices in the state, such as county commissioners or sheriffs. But it failed to meet a legislative deadline for a vote and died without being considered by a vote.
So what do you think? Does Wyoming need a term limits law to get new ideas and fresh faces into governmental offices? Or do you think such laws infringe on the rights of voters to keep re-electing officials they like?
Take our poll and gives us your opinion!