The Wyoming Whole County Plan returns our state to the system that represents rural interests and small towns more fairly!
History
Wyoming has always understood representation differently from most places. We don’t think in terms of blocks and neighborhoods. We think in terms of counties, towns, and wide stretches of land where people know one another and problems are solved face to face. For most of our history, that’s how representation worked here, too—counties were kept whole, and communities spoke with a clearer, stronger voice in Cheyenne.
In 1964, the Federal Judiciary overruled Article III, Section 3 of the Wyoming Constitution, requiring Wyoming to abandon its county-based system to adopt an east-coast gerrymandering system that minimizes rural and working voters.
What Works for Wyoming
Article III, Section 3 of the Wyoming Constitution states: “Each county shall constitute a senatorial and representative district; the senate and house of representatives shall be composed of members elected by the legal voters of the counties, respectively, every two (2) years. They shall be apportioned among the said counties as nearly as may be according to the number of their inhabitants…”
This composition ensures that the needs of Teton County and Niobrara County are represented by folks who understand the unique needs of their communities. Our current system gerrymanders districts to absorb rural and small-town voters into massive tracts of land, shrinking the voice of our rural heartland.
The Wyoming Whole Counties Plan returns the Wyoming House Districts to the following county lines and assigns representatives based on each county's population. This will create a representation that truly understands the needs of the community, and pulls east-coast politics out of Wyoming government.
