HomeTop StoriesLawmakers want to change some election processes in Oklahoma. Here are the...

Lawmakers want to change some election processes in Oklahoma. Here are the bills they introduced

OKLAHOMA CITY – Lawmakers have introduced a number of measures aimed at changing Oklahoma’s election processes.

Senate Bill 129, by Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, and Senate Bill 273, by Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, would increase the number of days for in-person absentee voting.

Senate Bill 129 would extend in-person absentee voting to 14 days.

Boren’s bill adds Wednesdays for all elections and Saturdays during the three weeks leading up to the general election, primaries, runoffs or presidential elections.

Kirt said there aren’t enough early voting days.

“People need access,” she said.

She said long lines during early voting during the last election cycle kept people from casting ballots.

State leaders should make it a priority to make it easier for people to vote without hassle, she said.

Senate Bill 329, introduced by Boren, would require those who vote absentee to be notified if a ballot is rejected and the voter to be given a chance to fix the defective paperwork.

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“If that ballot had been rejected three weeks before the election, I could have gone and voted in person if I had known,” Boren said. “Other states are telling people what to fix. We do not offer that option if a ballot is rejected.”

She said a writer’s mistake should not nullify a person’s right to vote.

House Bill 1692, by Rep. Ronald Stewart Jr., D-Tulsa, would make any day on which a general election is held a holiday.

The measure would increase voter participation, he said.

In the 2024 general election, Oklahoma’s percentage of eligible voters was among the lowest in the nation, experts say.

House Bill 1985, by Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, would end single-party voting.

It’s one of the issues that has been consistently on the doorstep during her campaign, she said.

Ranson said that requires people to vote for the candidate and not the party.

“I think it encourages voters to educate themselves about who is running,” Ranson said.

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House Bill 1712, by Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, would require a political party that holds a closed primary or runoff primary to reimburse the costs of the election.

Bennett said his bill serves as a financial incentive to open up the process.

“Elections are funded by taxpayers,” he said.

Democrats currently allow independents to vote in primaries and runoff elections, but Republicans and Libertarians do not.

Supporters of open primaries have indicated they are circulating an initiative petition to get the issue, in the form of State Question 836, on the ballot.

House Bill 1515, by Rep. Molly Jenkins, R-Coyle, would require registered voters seeking an absentee ballot to “provide a statement explaining why they are unable to vote, either absent early in person or on Election Day due to work, school or trip.”

Senate Joint Resolution 5, by Sen. Michael Bergstrom, R-Adair, requires that initiatives, referendums and constitutional amendments sent to voters be approved by at least 60% of voters rather than a majority. The measure would have to be approved by a vote of the people to become law.

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Lawmakers return to the Capitol on February 3.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma’s election processes could change under several new bills

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