Secretary Of State Gray Warns Cheyenne City Council On Referendum Petition

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray has issued a warning to the Cheyenne City Council over their handling of a petition demanding a referendum on an annexation for a data center project.

The council recently approved a 3,460-acre annexation into the city for a Microsoft Center expansion project. But a group of citizens has been circulating a petition to put the annexation to a public vote..

The city council on Monday asked the city attorney to get a judge's ruling on whether the petition is valid.

But Gray's office said that on Friday he had sent a letter to Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins warning against blocking the referendum

Gray Says There Is A ''Clear Statutory Process" That Applies

The letter includes the following: “As Wyoming’s Chief Election Official tasked with oversight and administration of Wyoming’s Election Code, Title 22, I write to caution you against undermining the clear, statutory process laid out in W.S. 22-23-1005, and to let the referendum process proceed. I am deeply disturbed by the actions of the mayor and council. Title 22 is clear: city residents have the right to subject ordinances to a referendum vote if the signature requirements are met. The People of Wyoming remain concerned about data centers. Please don’t abuse legal processes and procedures to bog down Cheyenne residents’ constitutional rights under the initiative process. I urge you to revisit this issue, let the statutorily authorized process for verifying petition signatures proceed, and let the people of Cheyenne have a voice in this process.”