By Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy CEO Joe Dorman
We are just about one week away from National Voter Registration Day, which is celebrated on September 17.
Voting is regarded as one of our Constitutional rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. It is the process which cumulatively allows us to select those who will represent us in elective office and to determine certain policies put before us on the ballot.
In Oklahoma, many organizations have chosen to promote nonpartisan voter awareness and registration. The Oklahoma Libraries Association (OLA) and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries (ODL), along with the League of Women Voters of Oklahoma (LVW), have put together tool kits to help groups promote the need to register and the right to vote. You can get the OLA/ODL toolkit at https://www.oklibs.org/news/681453/ODL-and-OLA-Partner-to-Equip-OK-Libraries-for-Voter-Registration-Drives.htm. The LVW link is https://my.lwv.org/league-women-voters-oklahoma.
Additionally, the Oklahoma Academy is dedicating their upcoming Town Hall to increasing voter turnout, and the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) operates Chalk the Vote, an effort to increase teacher turnout in voting. This can be found on OICA’s social media.
If you are not already registered, applications can be accepted at any time but must be received at least 25 days prior to an election to cast your vote. You can go to https://vote.gov/register/oklahoma to confirm your registration, but note, it is a felony to alter voter information to prevent someone from voting. One opportunity presented to those who are allowed to register to vote is to sign up online. Go to https://oklahoma.gov/elections/ovp.html to register.
All Voter Registration Applications – including those submitted online – are reviewed and manually processed by the County Election Board prior to approval. Once an application has been approved, the voter will receive by mail a Voter ID card confirming the registration, which is an allowable identification for use at polls. If an application is unable to be approved, the County Election Board will notify the applicant by mail.
Additionally, I want to highlight some voting rights extended to Oklahomans.
Pre-registration – Persons who are at least 17½ years old may pre-register to vote in Oklahoma if they meet all eligibility requirements but cannot vote until they turn 18 years old. This ensures that the Constitutional right to vote is allowed to those who will turn 18 on or right before Election Day.
Provisional voting – Any voter whose name does not appear in the precinct registry, does not show a valid ID, believes an error has been made regarding his or her party affiliation (for a primary election or subsequent runoff), or for other reasons allowed by law, may cast a provisional ballot. This is often the case with a person changing their name on a driver’s license but not updating the voter registration to reflect the new name. Once the verification occurs on the ability of the person to legally vote in the precinct where the ballot was cast, the vote will be added to each race total. In Oklahoma, provisional ballots are not counted if the voter casts a ballot in an incorrect precinct.
Felony conviction – A person convicted of a felony may register to vote when he or she has fully served his or her sentence of court-mandated calendar days, including any term of incarceration, parole, or supervision, or completed a period of probation ordered by any court. A convicted felon who has been pardoned may register once a pardon has become official.
Questions regarding voter registration should be directed to your County Election Board, or the State Election Board at (405) 521-2391. I hope these tips will assist you with ensuring that you are registered and have the right to cast your vote on November 5 and every election following.
