Oklahoma’s election system frustrates this politics editor. No wonder other voters don’t show up

For the first time in many years, I didn’t vote in an Oklahoma primary election.

It might sound odd coming from the editor of a political nonprofit publication and from someone who typically shows up at even the lowest turnout elections, including one where a single school board race was on the ballot.

But when Election Day arrived in June, I felt an unusual surge of apathy and decided not to drive to my polling location.

There was one key item on the primary ballot that interested me — a state House race. Two Republicans — incumbent Preston Stinson and Steve Herburger — were facing off. It was a winner-take-all outcome. The winner faces no opponent in November. 

But as a registered independent voter, I couldn’t weigh in on the outcome of the race. The only issue I was aware of on my ballot was a local lodging tax initiative.

Instead, 2,575 Republicans got to choose who will represent the roughly 39,700 constituents who reside within House District 96, which encompasses parts of Oklahoma City, Edmond and Arcadia and five school districts.

I don’t think anything drove home the worthlessness of my vote more than a visit from a Herburger supporter, who stopped at our home stumping for votes.

He had no interest in speaking with me because he had a list of registered Republicans living in our home.

Under our closed primary systems, I couldn’t vote in the race, so he focused his pitch on the person who mattered — my husband. 

I don’t think I’ve ever felt more disenfranchised at that moment, and I think subconsciously, I decided I wasn’t going to vote.

I share this story because Democracy Day is once again upon us.

Coinciding with the International Day of Democracy each year on Sept. 15, the event is designed to “draw attention to the crisis facing American democracy.”

I think the biggest threat to democracy in our state is voter apathy.

Oklahoma ranked 50th in turnout in November 2020, according to one report that also factored in voters from Washington D.C. Only Texas fared worse.

The closed primary system that we have in place that empowers a few to make decisions for many isn’t helping. Our political parties can voluntarily choose to open their primary elections, but there’s no requirement to do so. Oklahoma Democrats have temporarily opened theirs. Republicans and Libertarians have not.

That means a huge swath of voters sometimes don’t have the power to weigh in on who should represent them at our state Capitol.

As of August, over 466,000 Oklahomans identified as independents. Just shy of every 1 in 5 voters potentially might not have access to our primary contests. In the House District 96, Democrats and Libertarians were also disenfranchised and wound up with Stinson, who won the Republican primary, by default.

This stupidity has set up a situation where moderate Oklahomans — the silent majority — feel like their voices don’t matter or are drowned out by the loud chatter from people on the far fringes of both ends of the political spectrum. 

That vocal minority are the people who typically show up to vote in primaries. Our lawmakers have drawn legislative districts that are favorable to specific parties or even candidates. 

And our existing system empowers our want-to-be lawmakers to ignore constituents outside their parties. Because why should any lawmaker care what an independent voter thinks if they won’t have the ability to vote for them in the next primary election?

I fear that’s allowed the people who do turn out to take control of our political narratives, and that’s not good for democracy or Oklahoma policymaking.

Our schools rank in the bottom 10 in academic outcomes. But instead of focusing on concrete ways to recruit better teachers and improve academic outcomes, we’re fighting bizarre battles over where children can go to the bathrooms, what topics we can teach our children and whether Bibles should be used as a teaching tool in every classroom.

Meanwhile, nearly 1 in 4 children face hunger, yet we’re again turning down federal funding designed to alleviate that suffering.

Nearly 55% of Oklahomans live in child care deserts, which means there’s not enough care to meet demand. That affects the ability of adults to pull themselves out of poverty and employers to hire quality workers who are also parents. It’s a needle we haven’t moved.

A recent study found that we rank 43rd worst in the number of children living in poverty. 

We ranked 50th — only ahead of Mississippi — in our state health system performance, which looks at things like access, quality, usage, cost and health disparities and outcomes.

The list goes on and on. 

Is it any wonder we’re cellar dwellers with voter turnout rates? 

It doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence that casting a ballot is going to matter.

I’m sure I’ll get emails telling me to register as a Republican. 

But I shouldn’t have to in order to fulfill a basic tenet of democracy — the right to choose my elected representative. 

And, I should have a say in who represents me in our state Capitol each November because otherwise what’s the point of having democracy?

If any race is going to be decided in a primary, perhaps it should be placed on the General Election ballot instead. If not, maybe it’s time to take a look at adopting an open primary system like many other states have done.

But in any case, it’s time to take a closer look at whether we are doing enough to ensure that we have a vibrant, fully functioning democratic system of government and that we’re not disenfranchising large swaths of voters.

Because right now, we’re not doing enough to ensure we’re fulfilling the most basic tenant.

And we’re all suffering the effects of that.