What are we voting on? (June 2020 Edition)
“Wait, there’s an election next week? What are we voting on?”
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard that phrase, though I suppose it’s understandable - due to how we schedule elections in our state, there’s inevitably one somewhere in Oklahoma nearly every month of the year. Back in March we had our presidential primary election, and next Tuesday, June 30th, we’ll have our state primary election. For most Oklahomans, there will be four or five races on the ballot in addition to one state question, which we describe more below.
A word about primary elections
Before we get started, it bears mentioning that the purpose of primary elections is to allow political parties to choose their best candidates that they will then submit to the general election, which is held in November. Oklahoma has a “modified, closed-primary” system, which means that members of each political party are only allowed to vote for their party’s candidates. Our system is called “modified” because the Democratic Party allows voters who are unaffiliated (aka “independent”) to vote in the Democratic primary. Make sense? Allow me to summarize:
Voters registered as Republican can only vote for Republican candidates.
Voters registered as Democrat can only vote for Democratic candidates.
Voters registered as Libertarian can only vote for Libertarian candidates.
Voters registered as Unaffiliated/Independent can only vote for Democratic candidates.
If you feel like that is unfair, you’re not alone. Closed primaries are a contentious issue. Political parties are basically private clubs - it’s free to join, but by affiliating with one party you basically give up your ability to have any say in how the other party conducts their business, including which candidates they run. Furthermore, the parties use taxpayer dollars to run their private candidate selection process. Having a closed system, it means that voters may not get any say at all in who represents them.
For example, let’s say you live in Enid and are registered as an Independent. There are two candidates for Oklahoma House District 40, but both are Republicans. Because we have closed primaries, only registered Republicans can vote in the primary election to choose their state representative. Everyone in HD40 who is registered as Democrat, Independent, or Libertarian does not get to vote in that race. (According to the State Election Board, HD40 contains 9,396 Republicans, 4,176 Democrats, 2,951 Independents, and 114 Libertarians. So, only 56% of voters in that district are allowed to vote in the election that will decide who represents the entire district.)
What you can expect to see on the ballot
US Senate. Like all states, Oklahoma has two seats in the US Senate, which are elected to staggered, six-year terms. Only one of the seats is up for election this year - the seat of long-time incumbent Senator Jim Inhofe. He has both Republican and Democratic challengers, so regardless of your party affiliation, you’ll get to vote in a primary for this seat.
US House of Representatives. Oklahoma has five Congressional seats and they all are up for election this year. However, whether or not you have a primary election to decide depends on where you live and your party affiliation. The most contested Congressional seat is CD5, which is currently held by Kendra Horn. She is facing perennial candidate Tom Guild in the Democratic primary, and there are nine Republican candidates vying for the nomination from their party.
Oklahoma Senate. Oklahoma has 48 state Senate districts, which are elected to staggered, four-year terms, with half of the seats going up for election every-other year. So, again, whether or not you have a primary election to decide depends on where you live and your party affiliation.
Oklahoma House of Representatives. Oklahoma has 101 state House districts, which serve two-year terms, which means they’re all up for election this year. Like the items above, whether or not you get to vote in a state House race depends on where you live and your party affiliation.
In addition to the legislative positions listed above, there are also “down ballot” races for various County, City, and School Board positions on next week’s ballot as well. You guessed it - whether or not you are able to vote in one of those races depends on where you live and your party affiliation. If you’re curious, the state Election Board has a long list of all the races sorted by county:
And last but certainly not least, we have State Question 802. This is a statewide issue, so all voters get to vote. In fact, you will receive a separate ballot containing just this question all by itself. SQ802 deals with expanding Medicaid, and the “ballot title” (the summary paragraph that you will see on the ballot) reads as follows:
This measure adds a new Article to the Oklahoma Constitution. The new Article would expand Oklahoma's Medicaid program to include certain low-income adults between the ages of 18 and 65 whose income does not exceed 133% of the federal poverty level, as permitted under the federal Medicaid laws.
Supporters say: Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of uninsured people in the country, most of whom can’t afford it and don’t work at jobs that provide it. This measure would fix that. Furthermore, Oklahoma has been paying for Medicaid expansion through our federal income tax for more than 10 years, but all that money goes to other states because we didn’t expand Medicaid in our state. It may cost some money, but it’s worth it to ensure that all Oklahomans have health insurance, and if there’s ever a time our state needed a stronger safety net, it’s right now.
Opponents say: Oklahoma can’t afford to expand Medicaid, especially right now. Our economy is already fragile and cuts are expected next year as it is; having to come up with another $100 million per year is too much. Giving people free health insurance doesn’t incentivize them to work, so they end up costing the state more.
When you can go vote
If you haven’t already voted absentee (aka voted by mail), you can still vote early or vote on election day. Here’s all the days & times:
Early Voting - at your County Election Board
Thursday 6/25 from 8a - 6p
Friday 6/26 from 8a - 6p
Saturday 6/27 from 9a - 2p
Election Day - at your assigned precinct (find your precinct here)
Tuesday 6/30 from 7a - 7p
What to do if you’re not registered to vote
Unfortunately, if you’re not already registered to vote, you can’t vote next week. HOWEVER, you should still go ahead and register so that you’ll be all set for future elections. Oklahoma’s online voter registration system won’t be fully operational until 2022, but you can register by paper form. To get a voter registration form, you can print one of the state election board or stop by and fill one out at any tag agency (they’ll mail it for you, too).
