Wyoming Lawyer Files Complaint Against Secretary of State Chuck Gray Over Voter Data Sharing With Federal Government
Why It Matters
A legal complaint filed with the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office is challenging a decision by Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray to share sensitive voter data — including driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — with the federal government. The outcome could have implications for how Wyoming and other states handle future requests from federal agencies seeking election records.
The complaint adds another layer of legal scrutiny to Wyoming’s election administration at a time when the state is already navigating high-profile election-related legal proceedings, including felony charges against a county clerk for allegedly falsifying 2024 election documents.
What Happened
Cheyenne attorney George Powers filed a complaint Monday with Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz alleging that Gray “knowingly and willfully violated his statutory duty to maintain the personally identifiable information” in Wyoming’s voter roll list, as required by state law.
Powers, citing a “clear and immediate conflict of interest,” asked Kautz to refer the complaint to an independent, disinterested officer — such as a district court judge — for the appointment of a qualified, independent special prosecutor. As of midday Tuesday, Powers said he had not received a response from the attorney general.
The complaint stems from Gray’s decision in August to provide the U.S. Department of Justice with driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers of every registered Wyoming voter. Gray has maintained the decision was made in close consultation with the Wyoming Attorney General’s office and was proper under the Civil Rights Act.
How It Unfolded
The Justice Department first contacted Gray in June 2025, requesting Wyoming’s current statewide voter registration list, including both active and inactive voters. Gray initially exported a publicly available voter registry list in July, but the DOJ said the response was insufficient.
In an August 14 letter, the DOJ requested additional data fields, specifically including registrants’ full names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers — stating the information was needed to assess Wyoming’s compliance with federal law.
Gray complied on August 28, citing the Civil Rights Act and assurances from the DOJ that federal privacy protections would apply to the records. Gray noted in writing that he anticipated the Department of Justice would maintain the confidentiality of the records in accordance with Wyoming law.
By the Numbers
- 100% — Gray provided driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers for every registered Wyoming voter
- August 28, 2025 — date Gray complied with the DOJ’s expanded data request
- 1st — Wyoming was the first state to comply with the Trump administration’s request for voter rolls, according to the Brennan Center for Justice
- 0 — number of other states that provided sensitive voter data, with most either supplying only publicly available voter lists or declining the request altogether
What Both Sides Are Saying
Gray pushed back forcefully against the complaint, calling it an effort to undermine his office’s election integrity work. “The radical Left and the media will stop at nothing to undermine our work to ensure election integrity and security,” Gray said in a Tuesday statement, adding that the complaint amounted to “lawfare” and what he described as “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Gray also accused Powers of “attempting to use his law license to threaten and intimidate” his office and reaffirmed his support for the Trump administration’s broader election security efforts.
Powers argues that a Wyoming statute explicitly prohibits the public release of voter records containing Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, birth dates, and other personally identifiable information — and that Gray’s decision to share those records with the federal government violated that law.
Zoom Out
Wyoming’s cooperation was not an isolated incident. The Trump administration launched a nationwide effort to obtain states’ voter rolls as part of what the administration framed as an election security initiative. While the federal government argues the effort is aimed at keeping elections secure, critics have pointed to constitutional provisions that explicitly assign states — not the federal government — responsibility for conducting elections.
Most states either declined the DOJ’s request or supplied only publicly available voter data stripped of sensitive personal information. Wyoming’s decision to go further has put Gray at the center of a legal and political debate that touches on a broader political landscape in Wyoming marked by heightened scrutiny of election administration.
What’s Next
Powers is awaiting a response from Attorney General Kautz. If Kautz declines to act or is deemed to have a conflict of interest, the complaint calls for the matter to be referred to an independent officer for appointment of a special prosecutor. Gray has indicated he will continue cooperating with the Trump administration on election integrity efforts and shows no sign of reversing course.
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