Many people were alarmed recently when Gov. Kevin Stitt announced that 453,000 people had been “purged” from our voter rolls. We are all concerned when state leaders put politics above people, especially about our elections.
His statements did not make clear that voters were removed as part of routine maintenance taking place over more than three years by the Oklahoma State Election Board. Most of the people removed had died or moved out of state. Our voter rolls definitely need to be updated, and I appreciate that our elections officials have been proven to keep our lists accurate.
More: Who are Oklahoma’s deleted voters? State provides data breaking it down by party.
However, Oklahoma law also requires the board to remove “inactive” voters. There were 194,962 voters removed under this law. This definition of inactive voters is where politics takes priority over people. The law requires the board to remove voters who do not participate in four general elections, which is eight years. They are given the chance to verify their address via a direct mailing, but the voter has to take specific actions to stay on the list.