Picture of bill signing for Senate Bill 313, which creates secure online system for accepting voter registration applications. Shown are Senator Randy Bass, Senate Minority Staffer Sarah Taylor, Pam Slater with State Election Board, Governor Fallin, Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax, Senator David Holt.
By Jason Doyle Oden
The McCarville Report
Senator David Holt (R-Oklahoma City) successfully managed into law measures meant to improve voter turnout, saying today that recent turnouts have been “ludicrous” and he hopes the changes will improve voter participation.
Two of the newly-minted laws were sponsored by the senator, while the other part of Holt’s plan was authored by other legislators.
Senate Bill 312 reduces the number of municipal and local elections and provides two windows a year for those elections to be held. Holt says by consolidating local elections, voter fatigue will be reduced and encourage more participation by voters on the local level.
“As people know, we’ve had very bad turnout issues of late, especially on the local level of government. Even in the governor’s race, we only had 29 percent of people who could of voted turned out last year,” Holt told The McCarville Report. “Recently, in the Oklahoma City Council elections only ten percent of people turned out. It is especially acute at the local level.”
Holt uses this year’s local Oklahoma City elections as an example for the need to consolidate local elections. The Oklahoma City Board of Education held its election in February. The City Council races were held in March.
“It is kind of ludicrous that we would have such gross inefficiency. They obviously cost more money when you do it that way, but, more importantly, it just wears out voters.”
Cities and other local governments now have two periods a year in which to hold elections.
“All those local elections have to occur either during the spring, and that’s going to be February through April as a two election cycle. For most people that would be a primary and run-off. And then, if they want to do it in the fall, and it’s in an even numbered year, they’ll just use the General Election calendar that we’re used to, or in odd numbered years, there’s a September to November cycle.”
In a ceremonial signing on Wednesday, Governor Mary Fallin signed another of Holt’s election reform bills into law. Senate Bill 313 creates a secure, online system for voter registration applications. Holt says 27 states have some version of online registration.
“It is clearly the way of the world. Young people in their 20s and 30s can’t imagine that you can’t accomplish ministerial tasks like this online. It is obviously something that is inevitable.”
Holt explains that the system will be a way to transmit a voter registration application with the security it takes to protect voter information. It will be made available to Oklahomans with either a valid state drivers license or identification. The system is expected to be ready for use in about a year.
Another measure which was passed and has Holt’s support was House Bill 2181 by Speaker Jeff Hickman and Senator Marty Quinn. It lowers the threshold of creating an alternative political party.
“I think our threshold is too high for getting alternative parties or getting alternative candidates on the Presidential ballot.”
There were several statewide elections where no opponent filed on the democrat side, including in many senate districts where no democrat filed, including Senator Holt’s district. If you want greater voter turnout, you have to have voters going to the polls to decide elections. If one party doesn’t contest a senate seat, do you want to go recruit a powerful democrat to run against an incumbent republican?
One party taking over the state political system and term-limits have consequences; fewer contested elections by democrats, and; fewer candidates who want to try and take out an incumbent deciding to wait until their term limit is up or they get a better job and quit.