Libertarian Party of Wyoming
AbbreviationLPWY
ChairpersonShawn Johnson[1]
Headquarters2201 Davis Lane
Riverton, Wyoming 82501
Membership (2021)Increase 2,891
IdeologyLibertarianism
National affiliationLibertarian Party
Colors  Gold-yellow
Statewide executive offices
0 / 5
Seats in the Wyoming Senate
0 / 30
Seats in the Wyoming House
0 / 60
WY seats in the U.S. Senate
0 / 2
WY seats in the U.S. House
0 / 1
Other elected officials2 (October 2021)[2]
Website
lpwy.org

The Libertarian Party of Wyoming (LPWY) is the affiliate of the US Libertarian Party (LP) in Wyoming, headquartered in Riverton.[3] As of 2021 it was the third-largest political party in Wyoming by voter registration (approaching 1%), with a share of votes cast that has exceeded 5%.

History

1970s

On July 26, 1976, the Libertarians started a petition drive so that their presidential candidate, Roger MacBride, could appear on the ballot.[4] They were unsuccessful in gathering at least 6,300 signatures by September 28, but MacBride received 89 write-in votes (0.1%) in the general election.[5][6]

1980s

On August 11, 1980, the Libertarians started a petition drive so that their presidential candidate, Ed Clark, could appear on the ballot.[7] Around 11,000 signatures were collected and on September 18, the Secretary of State certified 6,522 of the signatures, which was more than the 6,469 required, allowing Clark to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate.[8] Clark campaigned in Casper, Wyoming, and received 4,514 votes (2.6%) in the general election.[9][10]

In 1984, four members of the Libertarian Party filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to have eleven sections of Wyoming's election codes declared unconstitutional.[11] Judge C. A. Brimmer ruled in favor of the Libertarians, but allowed Secretary of State Thyra Thomson to enforce the election code during the 1984 elections.[12]

On February 8, 1986, the Libertarian and American parties of Wyoming merged to form the Wyoming American-Libertarian Party.[13][14][15] However, on May 3, the party was dissolved after gathering 3,000 signatures, less than the 8,000 required to run candidates.[16][17]

During the 1988 presidential election both Ron Paul, the Libertarian presidential nominee, and Andre Marrou, the party's vice-presidential nominee, campaigned in Sheridan, Wyoming.[18][19] They received 2,026 votes (1.2%) in the general election.[20]

2010s

In the 2002, 2006, and 2014 Wyoming Secretary of State elections the Libertarian nominees received over 10% of the popular vote giving the Libertarian Party major party status in Wyoming. Major party status allowed the party to nominate via primary unlike how minor parties nominate via convention.[21][22]

In the 2018 election Bethany Baldes ran for a seat in the Wyoming House of Representatives from the 55th district. She was narrowly defeated by incumbent Representative David Miller by 53 votes.[23][24]

2020s

During the 2020 elections Marshall Burt was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives from the 39th district, becoming the fifth Libertarian elected to a state legislature and the first since 2002.[25] He formed the Libertarian Caucus on February 16, 2022.[26] Burt lost re-election to Republican Cody Wylie in 2022.

Voter registration

YearRV. %Change
1982~50N/ASteady[27]
198454(0.02%)Increase[28]
198875(0.03%)Increase 0.01%[28]
199278(0.03%)Increase 0.00%[28]
199453(0.02%)Decrease 0.01%[28]
1996181(0.08%)Increase 0.06%[28]
1998229(0.10%)Increase 0.02%[28]
2000246(0.11%)Increase 0.01%[28]
2002281(0.12%)Increase 0.01%[28]
2004328(0.14%)Increase 0.02%[28]
2006452(0.17%)Increase 0.03%[28]
20081,312(0.48%)Increase 0.31%[29]
20091,312(0.50%)Increase 0.02%[30]
20101,439(0.52%)Increase 0.02%[31]
20111,432(0.52%)Steady 0.00%[32]
2012833(0.39%)Decrease 0.13%[33]
20132,055(0.74%)Increase 0.35%[34]
20141,908(0.74%)Steady 0.00%[35]
20151,989(0.74%)Steady 0.00%[36]
20161,004(0.50%)Decrease 0.24%[37]
20172,655(0.93%)Increase 0.43%[38]
20182,407(0.92%)Decrease 0.01%[39]
20192,443(0.86%)Decrease 0.06%[40]
20201,396(0.63%)Decrease 0.23%[41]
20212,891(0.95%)Increase 0.32%[42]

Electoral performance

Presidential

State legislative

2018 Wyoming House of Representatives election, District 55[55]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican David Miller (incumbent) 1,645 50.6
Libertarian Bethany Baldes 1,592 49.0
Write-in 11 0.3
Total votes 3,248 100%
Republican hold
2020 Wyoming House of Representatives election, District 39[56]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Libertarian Marshall Burt 1,696 53.6 N/A
Democratic Stan Blake (incumbent) 1,421 44.9 –50.2
Write-in 47 1.5 –3.4
Total votes 3,164 100% +65.0
Libertarian gain from Democratic

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Not on the ballot. Votes counted were write-ins.
  2. 1 2 Placed on the ballot as an independent due to a lack of ballot access for the Libertarian Party.

References

  1. Reynolds, Nick (October 24, 2020). "Could Libertarians shake up Wyoming elections this year?". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  2. "Elected Officials". Libertarian Party of Wyoming. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. "Political Parties in Wyoming". Secretary of State of Wyoming. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  4. "Party plans petition campaign". Casper Star-Tribune. July 22, 1976. p. 33. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Drive begins". Casper Star-Tribune. August 10, 1976. p. 1. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "1976 election results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  7. "Drive would put Libertarian on ballot". Casper Star-Tribune. August 13, 1980. p. 3. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Signatures submitted". Casper Star-Tribune. September 20, 1980. p. 2. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Stumps in Casper". Casper Star-Tribune. October 2, 1980. p. 1. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "1980 election results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  11. "Libertarian party sues to get on state ballot". Casper Star-Tribune. January 29, 1984. p. 10. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Libertarians win ballot battle". Casper Star-Tribune. February 18, 1984. p. 1. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Libertarian, American parties may join". Casper Star-Tribune. January 31, 1986. p. 3. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "American-Libertarian Party to hold meeting". Casper Star-Tribune. March 6, 1986. p. 3. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  15. "American-Libertarian Party Formed". The Jackson Hole Guide. May 1, 1986. p. 5. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "American-Libertarian Party discusses campaign strategy". Casper Star-Tribune. March 9, 1986. p. 3. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  17. "American-Libertarian Party ends its 3-month existence". Casper Star-Tribune. May 4, 1986. p. 3. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Libertarian VP candidate campaigns in Sheridan". Casper Star-Tribune. May 16, 1988. p. 11. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Libertarian Ron Paul to campaign in Wyo". Casper Star-Tribune. July 20, 1988. p. 3. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  20. "1988 election results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  21. "Wyoming LP attains major party status". Libertarian Party (United States). November 24, 2014. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  22. "Wyoming Libertarians Qualify for Their Own Primary". Ballot Access News. November 9, 2006. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  23. "Wyoming Libertarian Party Almost Elected a State Legislator". Ballot Access News. November 15, 2018. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  24. "Bethany Baldes announces plans to run for House District 55 in 2020". County 10. March 3, 2020. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  25. "Not a Republican, not a Democrat: Wyoming's Marshall Burt wins Libertarian Party's first statehouse seat since 2002". USA Today. November 4, 2020. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  26. "Wyoming Legislature allows Libertarian Party to form a Caucus". Ballot Access News. March 26, 2022. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022.
  27. "Libertarians to test election limitation". Casper Star-Tribune. August 11, 1982. p. 11. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "1984 to 2006 voter registration" (PDF). Secretary of State of Wyoming. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 31, 2020.
  29. "2008 voter registration page 13" (PDF). Secretary of State of Wyoming. December 1, 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 31, 2020.
  30. "2009 voter registration page 10" (PDF). Secretary of State of Wyoming. December 1, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 31, 2020.
  31. "2010 voter registration page 14" (PDF). Secretary of State of Wyoming. December 1, 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 31, 2020.
  32. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 1, 2011). "2011 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  33. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 1, 2012). "2012 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  34. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 2, 2013). "2013 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  35. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 2, 2014). "2014 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  36. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 6, 2015). "2015 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  37. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 5, 2016). "2016 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  38. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 1, 2017). "2017 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  39. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 1, 2018). "2018 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  40. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 1, 2019). "2019 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  41. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 1, 2020). "2020 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  42. Secretary of State of Wyoming (January 1, 2021). "January 2021 Statewide Summary of Wyoming Voter Registration" (PDF). Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  43. Leip, Dave (2019). "1976 Presidential General Election Results – Wyoming". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  44. Leip, Dave (2019). "1980 Presidential General Election Results – Wyoming". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  45. Leip, Dave (2019). "1984 Presidential General Election Results – Wyoming". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  46. Leip, Dave (2019). "1988 Presidential General Election Results – Wyoming". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  47. Leip, Dave (2019). "1992 Presidential General Election Results – Wyoming". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
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