Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon is speaking out against what he calls "aggressive" and "irregular" behavior from two Department of Justice election monitors who were sent to monitor the state's primary elections on August 18. The monitors' actions, which included asking questions outside their scope and requesting sensitive information, reportedly took local officials by surprise. According to Governor Gordon, this incident is part of a broader trend of federal interference in state elections. At least 1,000 election monitors are expected to be sent to polls nationwide this fall, sparking concerns about intimidation and pressure on local election officials.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-31,
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Story summary
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, a Republican, is criticizing the behavior of two Department of Justice (DOJ) employees who were sent to monitor the state's primary elections on August 18th. The DOJ had claimed that the monitoring initiative was aimed at promoting transparency, but Gordon and other local officials say they weren't informed about the presence of federal monitors until they showed up. One of these officials, Debra Lee, chief election officer for Wyoming's most populous county, reported that the federal employees didn't offer their credentials until she asked them to do so. The monitors also asked questions about poll worker training and equipment, which some saw as outside the scope of their authority under federal voting rights laws. Gordon characterized the behavior as "aggressive" and "irregular", echoing his concerns about federal overreach in Wyoming.
Written for “Trump's Influence on Elections” on 2026-08-31,
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Leaning score +0.35 for article 3338 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-08-31
Wyoming’s governor is speaking out about what he calls “aggressive” and “irregular” behavior on the part of Department of Justice employees sent to monitor the state’s August 18 primary elections.
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he → speak → elections
The two election monitors were sent as part of a “monitoring initiative aimed at promoting transparency,” according to a DOJ press release.
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monitors → send → release
But their behavior managed to upset even Republican Gov. Mark Gordon.
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behavior → manage → Gordon
“I feel very strongly about the federal government coming in and taking our guns.
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government → feel → guns
I don’t like that.
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I → like → that
I don’t like the federal government coming in and taking our votes, either,” Gordon told the Wyoming state canvassing board Wednesday.
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Gordon → like → board
Local and state officials, Gordon said, were not made aware that the election monitors would be present, and fellow Republican Debra Lee, the chief election officer for Wyoming’s most populous county, said the federal employees “did not offer their credentials until I requested they do so.”
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they → say → credentials
Then, Lee said, they proceeded to ask questions that appeared “outside the scope of federal voting rights laws …about the nature, length, and timing of poll worker training.
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that → say → training
Monitors requested training guides, asked how our new election equipment was acquired, and wanted to examine our tabulators.”
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equipment → request → tabulators
The news outlet WyoFile reported that the state’s attorney general is now investigating what happened that day.
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what → report → ?
Trump administration officials have stated that they intend to send up to 1,000 election monitors to the polls this fall, in what some Democratic lawmakers are calling “a mechanism for intimidating voters and pressuring local election officials”—pressure that evidently unsettles even voters and civil servants in conservative states.
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that → state → states
In many of last week’s Wyoming primaries, Republican candidates who amplified the president’s claims of widespread election fraud lost.
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who → amplify → fraud
But some Republican governors and candidates in other states have expressed excitement at the prospect of federal officials at their polling places—like Maine Republican gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles, who told members of a Young Republican club earlier this week that he intends to call his “friend” Tom Homan, Trump’s deportation czar, to ask for ICE presence at the polls.
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he → express → polls
