State of Wyoming: Election Renders State of Wyoming v. Taylor Haynes Moot
Written by broebling on September 18, 2018
Press Release – The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office filed a motion earlier today to dismiss State of Wyoming v. Taylor Haynes M.D.
If the court grants the motion, the two questions originally asked of the court in State of Wyoming v. Taylor Haynes M.D. will remain unanswered by the Wyoming Judiciary:
- Does Dr. Taylor Haynes meet the residency requirement to hold the office of governor under Article 4 Section 2 of the Constitution of the State of Wyoming?
- Does the Secretary of State, as Wyoming’s chief election officer, have the legal and statutory authority to act upon issues relating to a candidate’s eligibility?
“My office had hoped that a ruling in this case would set a firm judicial precedent and provide guidance as to our authority relating to candidate eligibility. The definitive primary election results in the governor’s race leaves the court without an active legal issue to consider. Now we are looking forward to working with the Wyoming Legislature to achieve a legislative solution to the question of candidate eligibility. The legislature is the right body for this issue as the Wyoming Constitution instructs the legislature to ‘secure the purity of elections, and guard against abuses of the elective franchise,’” said Secretary of State Edward Buchanan.
The Attorney General had initially requested an expedited hearing and review of the matter in July, however, Dr. Haynes would not agree to an expedited ruling. If the motion is not granted, evidentiary hearings on Dr. Haynes’ eligibility are scheduled for early January in accordance with the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure.
