Voters

AARP Wyoming invites all candidates for Wyoming’s national, state, and local political offices to take part in a webinar at 10 a.m. on June 18, to discuss the power of the age 50+ vote in Wyoming, as well as the priorities of AARP Wyoming during the 2020 election cycle.

The State of Wyoming is spending big on long term care and other issues around aging and the subject has officially risen to the level of op priority for the Legislature’s Joint Labor, Health, and Social Services Committee.

Byline: Sam Shumway

AARP Wyoming will host a pair of TeleTown Halls in which AARP Wyoming members will have the opportunity to get to know the Republican and Democratic nominees for governor and their stance on issues important to those age 50 and over.

With over 87,000 members in the state of Wyoming, AARP’s membership makes up roughly one-third of registered voters in the Cowboy State. As the voice of voters age 50 and over, AARP plays an important role in educating and informing one of the most consistent voting demographic in the state and nation. According to the US Census, 90.5 percent of all registered voters age 50 and over in the US participated in the 2016 election and 75.2 percent of voters participated in the 2014 midterm election. In Wyoming those numbers are slightly lower, but remain impressive with 76 percent of voters age 60 and over voting in the 2016 election.

If you are a voter over the age of 50, congratulate yourself. You are a part of the age group most likely to vote at a state and national level. Of course, who to vote for is another question, and one AARP hopes to help answer.

AARP Wyoming has compiled a list of data for the state regarding registered voters and categorizing the numbers for each district in the House and Senate. The numbers for the 60 districts in the House and the 30 districts in the Senate include: the total population for the district, the population of the 50+, the estimated number of AARP members, and the total number of registered voters in the district.

AARP Wyoming has released its 2017 Winter Newsletter with features on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Cheyenne; as well as CenturyLink's efforts to deregulate phone service in parts of Wyoming; and a column on the phases of hunting by Wyoming outdoor writer Ty Stockton. To read the Winter 2017 edition, click below.

Wyoming AARP State Director Sam Shumway will participate in a panel discussion called, “Healthcare in Wyoming: What is Next for Us,” on Sept. 14 from 6-8 p.m. at the Laramie County Library in Cheyenne. The event is sponsored by the Wyoming Chapter of the League of Women Voters.