Straight party voting could disappear from Oklahoma ballots
By Journalist Kennedy Thomason (OSU)
Today, the “Straight Party Voting Reform” Act passed in the House.
The bill would remove the option to straight party vote on a ballot. Instead of voters selecting a political party on their ballot to vote for candidates, they would now have to select each individual candidate.
Rep. Sherer (OU) introduced the bill, saying she wants voters to be mindful of the candidates they select.
“This is not meant to sway elections in any way, shape or form,” Sherer said. “This most likely will not sway elections in any way, shape or form. Basically, the intent of this bill is if you want to vote for straight party Republicans, straight party Democrats, straight party Libertarians, you can do it, you just actually have to fill in the bubble next to their name.”
In 2022, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported that Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma and South Carolina were the only states still offering straight party voting.
There was discussion over the bill, with a majority in favor.
Rep. Rhoads (OU) said she values the conscious ability to vote for candidates, regardless of political party.
“I am pro-bill. I think straight party voting can lead to a lot of problems,” Rhoads said. “Yes, it is OK to straight party vote, but I think that it is good that you have to individually check out those boxes by yourself because it eliminates accidentally making your vote not count.”
If a voter chooses to straight party vote, any boxes they fill in next to candidates that do not represent that party are null. It eliminates ticket-splitting, which voters are not always aware of.
Rep. Donaldson (NOWSU) echoed Rhoads’ sentiments, saying voters should look past party affiliation.
“I think that this bill would actually make people pay more attention to who they are voting for,” Donaldson said. “It’s easy to say, ‘I’m a Democrat,’ ‘I’m a Republican’ these are my beliefs, and so you believe that people in the same party share your same beliefs, although we’re in the same party, people’s beliefs and parties change person to person.”
The House passed the “Straight Party Voting Reform” Act in a vote of 46-4.