The Republican governor of Wyoming stated that DOJ monitors were aggressive and disregarded state election law during the 2026 primaries.
Posted by The NPR Politics Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict1 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The NPR Politics PodcastOct 26, 2026
The governor's statement that DOJ monitors were 'aggressive' and 'irregular' is well supported by multiple tier-1 and tier-2 sources. However, the sources attribute the 'complete disregard for our state laws' language to Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee, while Gov.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
What was said
… But that doesn't change the fact that voters maybe, and election officials in some places maybe, and we should note that the DOJ monitored primaries this election year, and generally, that was pretty uneventful, though there was one case in Wyoming where the Republican governor there said that the DOJ monitors were aggressive, said that they seemed to have a disregard for state law regarding elections. And so, generally, I would say, when you look at a thousand election monitors from DOJ going out to elections this year, that probably will not present issues in most of those places, but I think it's a question of, like, could there be isolated incidents, …
The NPR Politics Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Gordon's reported criticism concerned federal authority ('exceed what the authority that Congress had given them was'), not state election law. The 'complete disregard for our state laws' wording comes from Republican Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee.[3][4][5][6]
Supports. Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, called the monitors' behavior 'a bit aggressive' and 'irregular' at a state canvassing board meeting after the August 18, 2026 Wyoming primary.[1][4][5]
Context. The DOJ disputed the characterization, saying the monitors' questions were routine and that they did nothing improper. Gordon's spokesperson said disagreements remained, and the Wyoming Attorney General later issued an opinion that state law did not authorize DOJ monitors inside polling places.[2][6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 1 tier 1, 2 tier 2, 1 not rated
- 1Wyoming governor says DOJ poll monitors were 'a bit ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Monitoring the monitors: US states prepare for surge of Justice Dept election watchersreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3September 1, 2026krishnamoorthi.house.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4Wyoming GOP governor claims DOJ election monitors ... - The Hillthehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 5Wyoming's Republican governor raises concerns over ' ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 6The DOJ begins notifying counties about election monitoringnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, context
- 7Wyoming AG: State Law Bars DOJ Election Monitors From Polling Placescowboystatedaily.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Republican governor of Wyoming complained that Department of Justice officials were meddling in state elections by attempting to gain access to voting rolls.Mixed
- The Department of Justice monitored primaries during the 2026 election year.True
- The Department of Justice sent election observers to the August 2026 primary election.True
- The Department of Justice is sending 1,000 election monitors to polling places in 2026.True
- The Department of Justice is preparing to send a record number of election monitors for the 2026 midterm elections.True