Despite record voter registration and early voting participation, Oklahoma had the lowest turnout rate among eligible voters in the country, one analysis found.
Oklahoma’s turnout rate for the Nov. 5 election was 53%, the lowest in the nation, according to a report from the University of Florida. The report included anyone eligible to vote in the state, including Oklahomans who are not registered.
The state’s 2024 turnout of registered voters was also lower than the past two presidential elections.
Of Oklahoma’s registered voters, about 1.56 million — or 64% — voted in the 2024 presidential election. While nearly 4,000 more votes were cast this year than in 2020, records show the state had about 183,000 more voters on its rolls heading into the Nov. 5 election.
Experts said the drop in turnout can be attributed to a lack of competitive races at the state level, disillusionment of young voters and a lack of motivation to vote.
On social media, the election board reported that the current vote count does not include provisional ballots, which will be counted Friday. Election officials said the lower turnout was due to a higher number of Oklahomans being registered to vote than in previous years.
The Oklahoma State Election Board reported that voter registration exceeded 2.4 million people prior to Election Day, the highest number since the board began tracking the statistic this century. Turnout for the four-day period of in-person early voting was over 293,000 which surpassed a record previously set in 2020 in a three-day voting period.
James Davenport, associate dean for Social Sciences in the Liberal Arts and Sciences division of Rose State College, said low turnout can happen when Oklahomans have no local or state-level competitive races to show up for.
He said Oklahoma’s strong Republican dominance means that both Republican and Democratic voters are less likely to feel a need to show up to vote. The state’s GOP holds a supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature, all statewide elected offices and congressional seats.
“I think the lack of competitiveness, the dominance of one party, and the fact that Oklahoma has a lot of places that are decided in the primaries so you have fewer general election races to begin with is going to depress turnout in these general elections as well,” Davenport said. “I think all of those factors are the largest factors in why you don’t see the kind of turnout that you might see in some of the other states.”
He said when Oklahomans have more high-profile elections that are more competitive such as governor or attorney general on the ballot, more people show up to the polls.
Davenport said the record-setting early voting turnout could be indicative of a demand for opportunities to vote earlier.
Emily Stacey, professor of political science at Rose State College, said the lower turnout was surprising in comparison to the momentum and enthusiasm from the presidential campaigns. She said momentum doesn’t always translate to action at the polls.
“Democrats, particularly the youth, don’t see their vote actually turning into something,” she said. “They don’t know where their vote is going, or it’s not turning into success or a candidate change. And so after a certain point, I think that may get a little disheartening particularly for Democrats of youth in this state.”
Stacey said there is no “magic bullet” to solve low voter turnout in Oklahoma. She said making Election Day a federal holiday or bringing open primaries to Oklahoma could help, but focusing on civic education for youth is crucial.
Oklahoma’s top election official, Paul Ziriax, thanked election board employees, poll workers and law enforcement Wednesday for making the election possible.
“As Oklahoma’s chief election official, I am proud of the Oklahomans who exercised their right to vote in this election,” he said in a statement. “I am deeply grateful for the poll workers, county election officials, and State Election Board employees who worked so hard to make this election possible even with heavy turnout and despite the storms that ravaged parts of our state in the days before the election.”
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