Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
WORLAND – A ballot petition to allow Wyoming voters to join 19 states in overturning Citizens United is coming to close, with only a few weeks until the petition has to be turned over to the Secretary of State for the state of Wyoming.
Wyoming Promise was started last year, with the stated goal of calling for a 28th Amendment to the Constitution to overturn Citizens United, a 2010 Supreme Court decision that opened the door for corporations to spend unlimited amounts in direct support of political candidates, and the creation of Super PACs (political action committees).
Supporters of Wyoming Promise include former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming, stating, “We must get this dark money out of our political system.”
Locally, volunteers have been circulating the petition to initiate a question on the 2020 ballot that would ask voters if they support the amendment to the Constitution. For the measure to the reach the ballot, the group must obtain 15 percent of the voting population, per county, in 16 of 23 counties in Wyoming.
In Big Horn County, 13 volunteers have been canvassing the county, and have approached around 1,444 signatures so far, according to coordinator Jennifer Miller.
The group has to send their petition to the state coordinator of Wyoming Promise by Oct. 31, so it can be reviewed and verified before submission to the secretary’s office.
In Washakie County, the count is much lower, with around 300 signatures, according to coordinator Phyllis Roseberry, although the single volunteer in the county has been going door-to-door and events such as Nowoodstock and the local farmers market.
On Wednesday, with the help of Big Horn County volunteers, the Washakie County group will have one of the last public opportunities to sign the petition, at the Worland Post Office, starting at 9 a.m.