Primary should see better voter turnout
IF ever an Oklahoma primary election was going to break the mold and generate strong turnout, Tuesday’s would be appear to be it. We hope that proves true.
The three-day filing period in April saw 794 candidates sign up to run. That was about 200 more than the state Election Board anticipated and far more than any year since at least 2000, the earliest year for which the Election Board has comprehensive statistics.
Some of those candidates eventually withdrew or were removed due to challenges. Even so, the ballot is loaded, with candidates running for state and federal offices where seats are open — but also many where frustrated citizens have decided to challenge incumbents.
Three Republican members of Congress drew primary opponents — Reps. Markwayne Mullin in District 2, Tom Cole in District 4 and Steve Russell in District 5. In the Legislature, only four of 14 incumbents in the Senate and 16 of 69 incumbents in the House failed to draw a challenger. And those challenges aren’t strictly from the other party — several Republicans in both chambers are facing primary opponents.
These filings and the considerable number of candidates seeking open seats such as governor (15 people are running for that job, 10 of them Republicans) reflect public dissatisfaction with the status quo. The filing period occurred during the greatest sign of that dissatisfaction — a two-week strike by teachers upset about K-12 funding.
One call during the strike was for Oklahomans to vote out lawmakers who supposedly didn’t support education, particularly a package of tax increases that provided teachers with the largest pay raise in state history, $6,100 on average. Those results will be worth watching, as will races involving educators who decided to give politics a go.
The other high-profile issue Tuesday is State Question 788, which would approve “medical” marijuana in Oklahoma. Backers want to see Oklahoma join the many states that have taken this step. Opponents, including The Oklahoman, believe the initiative’s language is so broad that if the question is approved, voters will have essentially legalized recreational marijuana.
Supporters of SQ 788 were disappointed when Gov. Mary Fallin placed the question on the primary ballot. They noted that primaries have historically been lowturnout events, and they’re right. Indeed, even many general elections in Oklahoma have had disappointing turnouts.
In November 2014, for example, only about 40 percent of registered voters went to the polls. In the presidential election of 2012, Oklahoma’s 49 percent turnout of registered voters was a lower rate than all but two states (Oklahoma’s turnout was much better, 67 percent, in the Donald Trump-Hillary Clinton election of 2016).
The Election Board reported this month that roughly 45,000 new voters had registered during the first half of the year. That’s another sign of engagement, which ought to translate to increased participation. We'll find out Tuesday if that transpires. Another low-turnout election would be a disappointment.