What Is the Biggest Issue Facing Wyoming This Election Year?

With both an election year and the 2026 Budget session of the Wyoming Legislature looming, what do you think the biggest issue facing the state?

Abortion? Property Taxes? The Cost Of Living?

Obviously property taxes are a big issue. A proposed Constitutional Amendment that may go before voters this year would eliminate residential property taxes in the state.

Wyoming property taxes increased by a statewide average of 65 percent between 2019 and 2023, the last year for which numbers are available. That's a problem for many state residents, especially those with lower or fixed incomes. Legislative supporters of the proposed change say they hear more about the issue than any other.

But opponents say Wyoming is only 38th in the country in property taxes and argue some of the facts around the issue have been distorted or exaggerated out of proportion. They also point to a a legislative service office memorandum. saying the change would cost the state $644 million a year, money that goes to fund schools and local government.

Some people argue that the potential damage to government services and schools is a bigger problem than the taxes are.

But that may not be the only proposed change in the Wyoming Constitution on the ballot this year. The Wyoming Supreme Court this week on a 4-1 vote struck down two laws that would have banned abortion in Wyoming. The court said a 2012 Constitutional Amendment that says adults have a right to make their own health care decisions means the state can't prevent women from having abortions.

Opponents of the ruling say abortion is not healthcare, and that the Constitutional Amendment was aimed at curbing excesses of the Affordable Care Act and was never mean to apply to abortion. Some opponents also argue that the issue should be the purview of elected officeholders rather than appointed judges who essentially make laws from the bench.

Governor Gordon and other pro-life lawmakers have vowed to put the issue before the voters in the form of a Constitutional Amendment.

While abortion and property taxes may be generating most of the headlines, the state continues to face lots of other issues. Like everyone else, Wyomingites are grappling with the cost of living and wages that just don't seem to keep up with inflation.

Then there us housing. There never seems to be enough of it, especially the affordable kind. It's ben a problem for years and it hasn't gone away.

Or how about school funding? It's been an issue since at least the 1980s.

Take our poll and give us your opinion! If you don't see your top issue listed, you can also write one in for this poll.