--- title: "Wyoming Supreme Court upholds 96-day party-switch ban" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/wyoming-supreme-court-upholds-96-day-party-switch-ban" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/wyoming-supreme-court-upholds-96-day-party-switch-ban" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/wyoming-supreme-court-upholds-96-day-party-switch-ban.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/wyoming-supreme-court-upholds-96-day-party-switch-ban" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-10-02T22:05:44.282Z" source_reported: "2026-10-02T19:13:21.000Z" updated: "2026-10-02T22:05:44.282Z" trust_score: 60 critic_score: 65 hype_score: 20 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-10-02T22:00:16.706208+00:00" --- # Wyoming Supreme Court upholds 96-day party-switch ban *The court ruled the deadline does not violate voters' constitutional rights.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 60 of 100, higher is better. One outlet provided a full report, with the central claim attributed to the court. - Craft 65 of 100, higher is better. The reporting clearly separates fact from comment and names specific individuals and dates. - Hype 20 of 100, lower is better. The language used is measured and proportionate, with no sensationalism. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - The Wyoming Supreme Court upheld the state's ban on voters changing party affiliation within 96 days of an election. - The court ruled the deadline does not unconstitutionally burden the right to vote or violate equal protection guarantees. - Supporters of the law said it prevents registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters from influencing Republican primaries. - The lawsuit's plaintiffs narrowed their appeal to challenge only the 96-day freeze period. The Wyoming Supreme Court has upheld the state's ban on voters changing their party affiliation within 96 days of an election. The court ruled on Thursday that this deadline does not violate constitutional rights. In its unanimous decision, the court stated that the party affiliation deadline is not an unconstitutionally onerous burden on voters' right to vote and does not violate equal protection guarantees. The ruling allows the November general election to proceed under the rules established in 2023, when the Wyoming Legislature enacted the law. Supporters of the ban argued it was necessary to prevent registered Democrats, minor party members, and unaffiliated voters from changing their affiliation to participate in Republican primary elections. ## Disagreement on the law's impact Washington Top News reported that supporters of the law claimed it was needed to stop voters from influencing primaries, but added that those claims were shown to be statistically unfounded. The same report noted that prior to the ban, voters could change their party affiliation at the polls on Election Day. ## What the coverage left out None of the left-rated digests mention the court's specific reasoning that the ban deters affiliation changes not motivated by genuine attachment to a party. The right-rated digest does not mention the court's finding that the deadline is not an unconstitutionally onerous burden or that it does not violate equal protection guarantees. ## Who covered it Shares of the 12 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 50% (6) - Centre: 42% (5) - Right: 8% (1) 0 of 12 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-10-02T22:00:16.706208+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 2 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-10-02T22:30:15.853Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - The left-rated reports led with the Wyoming Supreme Court upholding the state's crossover-voting ban. These reports stated that the 96-day period prohibiting voters from changing party affiliation before Election Day does not violate constitutional rights. The Toronto Star, Associated Press News, The Hamilton Spectator, St Catharines Standard, and WyoFile all carried this central finding. WyoFile noted that the ruling clears the way for November's general election to proceed with party-affiliation restrictions in place. ### Centre - The centre-rated reports focused on the Wyoming Supreme Court's decision to uphold the state's crossover-voting ban. Newsday, KULR-TV, The Lawton Constitution, The Record, and Winnipeg Free Press all reported that the 96-day period preventing voters from changing party affiliation before Election Day does not violate constitutional rights. KULR-TV and The Lawton Constitution also mentioned that the court stated the deadline is not an unconstitutional burden. Washington Top News, the only full report among the centre-rated outlets, provided more detail on the court's reasoning, quoting the ruling that the party affiliation deadline is not an unconstitutionally onerous burden and does not violate equal protection guarantees. It also included statements from the Secretary of State and the plaintiffs' attorney. ### Right - The single right-rated report, Cowboy State Daily, stated that the Wyoming Supreme Court upheld a law banning voters from switching parties once political candidates register to run for office. The digest did not specify the length of the ban. **Provisional coverage gap:** right. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - high: 5 - unknown: 1 - veryHigh: 6 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Washington Top News](https://wtop.com/national/2026/10/wyoming-supreme-court-concludes-crossover-voting-ban-is-constitutional) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional – WTOP News - [The Toronto Star](https://thestar.com/news/world/wyoming-supreme-court-concludes-crossover-voting-ban-is-constitutional/article_acdc1b4a-5c0d-55b6-bad0-30549acfd8ff.html) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional - [Newsday](https://newsday.com/news/nation/wyoming-supreme-court-upheld-crossovervoting-ban-g96593) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional - [Associated Press News](https://apnews.com/article/wyoming-supreme-court-upheld-crossovervoting-ban-1a64e9c01dd3416a73f7456985f0a008) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional - [KULR-TV](https://kulr8.com/news/national/wyoming-supreme-court-concludes-crossover-voting-ban-is-constitutional/article_2903e9d4-b13d-5801-ba1b-d1d5fab04129.html) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional - [The Lawton Constitution](https://swoknews.com/ap/national/wyoming-supreme-court-concludes-crossover-voting-ban-is-constitutional/article_8d645072-ea64-57f2-8f2c-e555b3f576c0.html) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional - [The Hamilton Spectator](https://thespec.com/news/wyoming-supreme-court-concludes-crossover-voting-ban-is-constitutional/article_d78a6160-0b15-5ff6-8f20-90b31d2a4b87.html) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional - [The Record](https://therecord.com/news/wyoming-supreme-court-concludes-crossover-voting-ban-is-constitutional/article_a5050aac-3016-510f-8f8d-9a0e7edf3ec6.html) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional - [St Catharines Standard](https://stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/wyoming-supreme-court-concludes-crossover-voting-ban-is-constitutional/article_f71bbd2e-d67d-55ca-b655-8b657686af9f.html) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional - [Winnipeg Free Press](https://winnipegfreepress.com/world/2026/10/02/wyoming-supreme-court-concludes-crossover-voting-ban-is-constitutional) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional - [WyoFile](https://wyofile.com/wyoming-supreme-court-concludes-crossover-voting-ban-is-constitutional) — Wyoming Supreme Court concludes crossover-voting ban is constitutional - [Cowboy State Daily](https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/10/01/wyoming-supreme-court-upholds-crossover-voting-ban) — Wyoming Supreme Court Upholds Crossover Voting Ban ## Questions **What did the Wyoming Supreme Court rule regarding the crossover-voting ban?** The Wyoming Supreme Court upheld the state's ban on voters changing their party affiliation within 96 days of an election. The court determined that this deadline does not violate voters' constitutional rights, including the right to vote and equal protection guarantees. **Why was the crossover-voting ban challenged?** The lawsuit initially sought to overturn the state's 'sore loser law' but was narrowed to challenge the 96-day period prohibiting voters from changing party affiliation before an election. Plaintiffs argued this restriction unconstitutionally burdened voting rights. **What was the reasoning behind the crossover-voting ban?** Supporters of the ban argued it was necessary to prevent registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters from changing their party affiliation to participate in Republican primary elections. The court stated the ban deters affiliation changes not motivated by genuine party attachment. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/wyoming-supreme-court-upholds-96-day-party-switch-ban. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Wyoming Supreme Court upholds 96-day party-switch ban", https://mediabias.news/politics/wyoming-supreme-court-upholds-96-day-party-switch-ban