Skip to main content

Oklahoma Elections: For Insiders Only?


When is election day? Most people probably assume it’s the first Tuesday in November. That makes sense, since that’s the date for statewide elections, and, in even numbered years, federal elections as well. Would it surprise you to learn that there is an election scheduled in Oklahoma every single month in 2019? That is not to say that every district has an election every month. That would be a hassle - the well-engaged citizen would have to make it to his local precinct every 4 weeks to make sure his views are adequately expressed. The slipshod way local elections are scheduled is far more shocking and less predictable than that.

One would be forgiven for thinking, on first glance, that Oklahoma allows government bodies to change lawmakers and raise taxes through oddly scheduled, poorly noticed elections on (almost) whichever Tuesday they want. However, in reality there are “only” 15 days per year when local elections can be scheduled. Still, this means that the party in power gets to set the date of their election. School boards and local governments can set elections in any month they choose. This could be a Tuesday in July when people are on vacation, or in December when the rush of the holidays is upon us. In either case, voter turnout is likely to be low. A few stalwart supporters could easily carry any vote to approval. The rest of the citizens impacted by the vote may be completely unaware of its timing or even of its existence. It is left to the county election board to determine how to let voters in their district know about the times and dates of elections. 

This is no way to run a democracy. Majority rule and the consent of the governed are the touchstones of the American way of life. Only through the due process of scheduling reasonable elections at well-noticed times can the citizens of Oklahoma be truly be heard and represented. Scheduling elections for a date when no one expects it – so that only those voters who work in, or are somehow connected to, the local government remember to vote – is, at best, undemocratic and, at worst, a sham. 

The right to vote carries responsibilities to be sure - being informed on the basic issues and candidates should be a prerequisite for anyone casting a vote. But it should not be difficult for a reasonably informed citizen to know when it’s time to vote. Oklahoma should put procedures in place to ensure that people know when votes will happen, and that there are not a burdensome number of voting days in a year. Any ballot measure should have to happen concurrently with the statewide primary. Or, if the need is sufficiently urgent, on the date of the statewide primary. 

In a perfect world, there would be only two election dates each year: the primary and the general. However, There may be some real logistical reasons that school board and other local elections can’t happen on the date of the statewide elections - congressional districts do not always follow the same lines as school districts or county offices. Therefore, voters might be required to go to multiple polling places on the same day. As this would also be burdensome, the smart solution is for the state to intervene and ensure that, at a minimum, all school board elections occur on the same day across the state. Likewise, all county elections should occur on the same day statewide, as well as all municipal elections. Any ballot measure impacting such a district should also occur on the same day as elections for those officials. Furthermore, all Oklahoma elections should require actual notice, such as mailers to every household for each and every election scheduled. This would ensure that election dates are not burdensome to the average voter, that all citizens are aware of the elections which could affect their household, and that the citizens’ will is made law, not the government’s. It would also be somewhat expensive - this is a feature, not a bug. The cost would encourage localities and school boards to work together to hold elections on the same day, or better yet, find a way to hold them on the days of the statewide primary and general elections.

Voter turnout is not something the state can or should control. Decisions are made by those who show up. But there should be a real effort to ensure that elections are publicized enough that those who care to show up, can.  

By Mike R. Davis, 1889 Institute Research Fellow
Send comments to mdavis@1889institute.org 


Popular posts from this blog

Even If Pandemic Models Were Right, Were Covid Lockdowns Wrong?

1889 has been quite critical of pandemic modeling that government officials have relied on for their Covid-19 response. We have also criticized shutdown orders in light of flaws in the models. But let’s assume for a moment that the worst predictions really would have come true if nothing was done. Even in those worst case scenarios, it’s fair to ask if our governments did the right thing. Were involuntary shutdowns justified, or would people have found a way to both limit the contagion and maintain some level of productivity? Was putting healthy citizens under house arrest acceptable even if they were willing to risk infection?   While large groups of people are often compared to herd animals, we are not sheep. We don’t behave like animals. We can, have, and will step up when our communities are in danger. When government and journalists give incomplete or false information, people will act irrationally. Depending on the situation, some will blindly follow the first aut...
Read more

About Those Roads in Texas

A s Sooner fans head south for the OU-Texas game next week, they will encounter a phenomenon most of us are familiar with: as you cruise across the Red River suddenly the road gets noticeably smoother. The painted lane stripes get a little brighter and the roadside “Welcome to Texas” visitors’ center gleams in the sunlight, a modern and well-maintained reminder of how much more money the Lonestar State spends on public infrastructure than little old Oklahoma. Or does it? Why are the roads so much, well… better in Texas? Turns out, it isn’t the amount of money spent, at least not when compared to the overall size of the state’s economy and personal income of its inhabitants. Research conducted by 1889 Institute’s Byron Schlomach reveals that Oklahoma actually spends significantly more on roads than Texas as a percentage of both state GDP and personal income . And that was data from 2016, before Oklahoma’s tax and spending increases of recent years. The gap is likely gr...
Read more

Played for Chumps: The Waste and the Trap that Is MAPS 4

If you own a business and an employee constantly shows incompetence, are you likely to give that incompetent a raise, or promote him to a management position? Obviously, there’s no way. Yet, this is what Oklahoma City’s residents are being asked to do, by passing a 1-cent sales tax for a fourth round of Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS). These are projects that have a history of being seen, but not really making much of a positive difference in most Oklahoma City residents’ lives. Oklahoma City’s voters should politely decline the “opportunity.” Oklahoma City’s government often demonstrates incompetence in providing basic city services. Take traffic management, for example. There was a period of time when my own commute on Northwest Expressway was interrupted repeatedly – three times in one week at one point – by malfunctioning traffic lights. The flashing lights turned a controlled intersection into a 4-way stop and traffic on the Expressway backed up for almost a mile, unexpecte...
Read more

George Floyd versus Union Cops: Is that the Real Story?

No one with a brain can look at the video of the Minneapolis cops putting their weight on George Floyd’s entire body, including a knee to his neck, and see his resulting death as anything but murder. The first autopsy cited pre-existing health conditions as a contributing factor in Floyd’s death. The second autopsy found Floyd’s death to be murder due to his carotid artery being crushed, cutting off blood flow to his brain. The official coroner seems to have come around to the murder conclusion, but regardless, those cops killed a man for passing a counterfeit 20-dollar bill; and because he’s dead, we can’t even find out if Floyd knowingly did so. Were the cops indifferent to Floyd’s pain because of racism? I don’t know, and no one else does, either. The cop with his knee on Floyd’s neck is obviously responsible for Floyd’s death. The other cops, who did nothing to alleviate Floyd’s suffering when he complained that he couldn’t breathe, are at least culpable in the murder. Three of the...
Read more