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<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">Wyoming's governor is</span> speaking out about what he describes as "aggressive" and "irregular" behavior by Department of Justice employees who monitored the state’s primary elections on August 18.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The two election monitors were deployed as part of a "monitoring initiative aimed at promoting transparency," according to a DOJ press release. Their actions reportedly caused concern for Republican Governor Mark Gordon.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I feel very strongly about the federal government coming in and taking our guns. I don’t like that. I don’t like the federal government coming in and taking our votes, either,” Gordon stated during a meeting with the Wyoming state canvassing board. He noted that local and state officials were not informed of the monitors' presence, and Debra Lee, the chief election officer for Wyoming's most populous county, mentioned that the federal employees "did not offer their credentials until I requested they do so." </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Lee added that the monitors asked questions that seemed "outside the scope of federal voting rights laws" regarding poll worker training, including inquiries about the nature, length, and timing of the training. They also requested training guides and sought to examine the state’s election tabulators.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to a report from <a href="https://wyofile.com/gov-gordon-concerned-by-aggressive-doj-election-observers-during-wyomings-primary-election/">WyoFile</a>, the state’s attorney general is investigating the events that occurred during the primary.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Officials from the Trump administration have indicated plans to send up to 1,000 election monitors to polling places this fall. Some Democratic lawmakers have characterized this initiative as "a mechanism for intimidating voters and pressuring local election officials," which has raised concerns even among voters and civil servants in conservative states. In the recent Wyoming primaries, several Republican candidates who supported claims of widespread election fraud were unsuccessful.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Conversely, some Republican governors and candidates in other states have expressed support for the presence of federal officials at polling places. For instance, Maine Republican gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles mentioned his intention to contact Tom Homan, a former official in the Trump administration, to request the presence of ICE agents at polling locations.</p>