Wyoming lawmakers on the Select Committee on Legislative Facilities, Technology and Process recently forwarded a proposal to provide a live visual of votes at the state Capitol for people watching online.
The voting screen would be a public webpage with a rundown of how House and Senate electeds are voting on a bill in real-time.
Currently, Wyomingites can only tune into YouTube livestreams of the chambers and listen to roll call votes or view the final results on the Legislature’s website.
“We just had the same discussion when it comes to the media folks,” said Rep. Dalton Banks (R-Cowley) at the latest committee meeting. “It goes back to public perception and transparency.”
The media discussion Banks mentioned was about a proposal to bar the press from taking photos or videos in the Capitol’s hallways near both chambers. Instead, journalists would’ve had to use galleries above them.
That notion was originally proposed by the Legislature’s presiding officers.
But after pushback on it, the committee voted unanimously to drop the restrictions.
“The media people want to be in there for increased transparency,” Banks said in the same meeting. “If we can have public perception that we are transparent, we’re not trying to hide anything – I believe that if that accomplishes that, then we’re doing our job.”
Legislators also considered installing physical voting billboards in the House and Senate in addition to a website.
However, some worried about how they would affect decorum, pointing to the U.S. Congress’s voting billboards and the chaos they can sometimes cause as a roll call vote is being taken.
The Management Council, which consists of the Legislature’s top leaders, will review the voting screen recommendation at a meeting Nov. 7 and 8.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
