The Wyoming Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a dispute between Secretary of State Chuck Gray and a Cheyenne lawyer over the handling of voter data. In April, George Powers, a private attorney, filed an election code complaint with Attorney General Keith Kautz, alleging that Gray may have broken state law by providing the driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers of every registered voter to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Background

The Trump administration had requested this information from all 50 states in 2025. Powers asked the attorney general to recuse himself from the matter, citing a potential conflict of interest. When Kautz would not say whether he would do so, Powers asked the Supreme Court to intervene.

Powers’ attorneys filed a petition for a writ of mandamus, a legal action that allows a court to order government officials to perform their public duties. The petition asked the high court to command Kautz to recuse himself and his office from investigating the allegations contained in the complaint and to appoint an independent prosecutor to handle the matter.

The high court denied the petition, stating that Powers had not cited any ‘absolute, clear, and indisputable’ law specifically requiring these actions. The ruling does not necessarily conclude the dispute, as Powers is considering next steps.

In his response to the petition, Kautz disclosed that two groups of attorneys who reviewed Powers’ complaint declined to bring criminal charges against Gray. The attorney general’s office evaluated the complaint by creating a ‘Chinese wall,’ or an internal information barrier, and an unnamed private Wyoming law firm, alongside a Wyoming county and prosecuting attorney, conducted the second evaluation.

Both groups of attorneys decided not to pursue criminal charges. Gray has stood by his decision, maintaining he made it in consultation with the attorney general’s office and in support of election integrity. He has accused Powers of trying to undermine his office’s work.

Original reporting: Oil City News (Casper WY) — read the source article.