Oklahoma sees uptick in voter turnout for 2026 runoff elections

OKLAHOMA CITY — Major races for statewide offices, plus two state questions, attracted higher-than-usual voter turnout for Tuesday’s runoff elections. 

More than 371,000 Republicans cast ballots in the GOP primary runoff for governor between the winner Mike Mazzei and Attorney General Gentner Drummond, according to Tuesday’s election results. That represents about 29% of the 1.29 million registered Republicans in Oklahoma.

The last time Oklahoma saw a gubernatorial race go to a runoff was in 2018, when over 302,000 Republican voters decided between eventual Gov. Kevin Stitt and Mick Cornett.

More than 360,600 people voted in Tuesday’s GOP runoff for state superintendent, which Robert Franklin won. That’s far more than the previous two times Republican superintendent candidates went to runoffs in 2022 and 2018.

Nonpartisan state questions, open to voters of any party, received the greatest number of votes Tuesday.

Over 535,500 Oklahomans voted on State Question 846, which enshrines voter identification requirements in the state Constitution. The measure passed with about 55% of the vote.

About 7,000 fewer people voted on State Question 844, but those that did overwhelmingly rejected it by 74%. The ballot measure would have allowed state lawmakers to change how much they reimburse public schools and local governments for a manufacturing tax break.

August elections typically attract fewer voters than more well-known dates in June and November. That trend continued.

In June, more than 630,400 voters decided on an unsuccessful state question that sought to raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage.

The nine-candidate Republican primary for governor drew 403,000 votes in the June election.

Although runoff turnout was elevated this year, it still represents a fraction of the total number of registered voters in Oklahoma.

About 22% of the state’s 2.4 million registered voters cast ballots on the measure enshrining voter identification in the state Constitution.

Democrats had an even lower turnout rate, only 21%, for their sole partisan statewide primary, a U.S. Senate race between the eventual winner N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas and Jim Priest. About 616,000 Oklahomans are registered as Democrats, according to the state Election Board.

Independents and Libertarians were barred from voting in the partisan primary races, as neither Republicans nor Democrats opened their elections to them.