The Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee passed House Bill 157, which would require documentary proof of United States citizenship at the time of voter registration. The committee voted unanimously in favor of moving the bill out of committee.

Representative Bair presented House Bill 157 as a narrower companion to the proof-of-residency bill, saying it lists acceptable documentary proofs of citizenship — items such as a valid U.S. passport, certified birth certificate, certificate of naturalization or other specified documents. "Proof of United States citizenship means for the purpose of voter registration any of the following," Bair said while walking committee members through the list in the bill.

Secretary of State Chuck Gray told the committee Wyoming does not currently require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship at registration and said the measure aligns with his office's election-integrity priorities. Gray said the bill complements proposals at the federal level and the SAVE Act, which aims to require proof of citizenship for registration under the National Voter Registration Act. "We launched an election integrity plan. This was the number one plank on our 10 point plan, which is proof of citizenship and proof of residency for registering to vote," Gray said.

Administration and technical points: county clerks told the committee that WYOREG and other backend checks already flag some citizenship data, and argued the clerk offices can administer the proposed requirement with training. Mary Langford of the County Clerk's Association said Real ID is required nationwide and that most Wyoming registrations already use Wyoming driver's licenses; she noted that additional training would be needed to implement statewide scanning and verification for out-of-state credentials.

The committee also discussed how tribal identification cards are treated; the bill text includes tribal IDs (Eastern Shoshone, Northern Arapaho and other federally recognized tribal identification cards) but contains a cautionary clause that would exclude cards that "contain any indication that the person is not a citizen of the United States." Secretary Gray and Joe Rubino emphasized the bill's focus on ensuring only U.S. citizens are permitted to register to vote.

Public testimony again urged inclusive lists of acceptable documents and careful rulemaking to avoid accidental disenfranchisement for people who lack conventional documents (for example, older adults, people in assisted-living facilities, Indigenous residents on reservations, and people without street addresses). Misty Zimmerman of Wyoming Driver Services explained the state's driver license system is being modernized so credentials can separately record a physical address and a mailing address; she warned that Real ID cards from other states may not carry uniform markings that show citizenship status.

Committee action: Representative Brown moved to advance House Bill 157 and Representative Lucas seconded. The committee conducted a roll-call vote: Representatives Brown (Aye), Locke (Aye), Heft (Aye), Johnson (Aye), Lucas (Aye), Webb (Aye), Weber (Aye), Yin (Aye) and Chairman Knapp (Aye). The bill passed the committee and the sponsor said he will present it on the House floor.