Oklahoma is ranked 50th in the country for voter turnout. A basket of “I Voted” stickers sits on a table at a polling location in St. Luke’s Methodist Church in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s voting system is leading to low turnout rates, the election of more extreme candidates and disenfranchisement of voters who are excluded from participating in primary elections, experts said.
That’s prompting conversations about whether reforms are needed to increase voter participation rates and how the state can ensure hundreds of thousands of independent voters have a voice at the ballot box at a time when most outcomes are determined months ahead of November’s general election.
In 2022, only seven of the 168 offices filed with the Oklahoma State Election Board were decided during the general election. The other 161 races were decided in primaries, runoffs or were noncompetitive.
In Oklahoma House District 20’s Republican runoff on Tuesday, Jonathan Wilk defeated Mike Whaley with 50.03% of the vote. The race was decided by two votes , according to the unofficial results from the State Election Board, and Wilks will face Democrat Mitchell Jacob in the Nov. 5 general election.