Oklahoma Governor purges 453,000 voters weeks before election

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.–Just weeks before the November Presidential Election, Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt announced the purges of over 453,000 voters Wednesday in a state with the lowest voter turnout in the nation.

“Thanks to our strict voter list maintenance laws, Oklahoma has removed over 453K ineligible voters from our rolls,” Gov. Stitt posted to X, formerly Twitter.

According to the Governor’s press release, the voter purge includes: 97,065 deceased voters and 143,682 voters who moved out of state. It also includes 5,607 voters with felony convictions, 14,993 duplicate voters, and 194,962 “inactive” voters.

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“Through close collaboration with the Governor’s Office, the State Election Board, and our colleagues in the Legislature, Oklahoma has fortified our electoral process,” said Secretary of State Josh Cockroft. 

Not everyone was as enthusiastic about the announcement.

“Purging the voter rolls with less than 50 days before Election Day and less 25 days until the October 11th deadline to register to vote tells me the Governor and election officials are not concerned about hearing the voices of Oklahomans,” Oklahoma Young Democrats President Jekia Harrison told the Black Wall St. Times. “This could have been done months ago if it was truly about election integrity.”

Oklahoma Governor announces voter purges in state with lowest voter turnout

Notably, even though inactive voters make up the single largest chunk of purged voters, Stitt didn’t include this number on his social media post. Instead, he highlighted how the tight state requirements make Oklahoma’s elections among the most secure in the nation.

However, the state also ranks 50th out of 50 states for voter turnout, according to the Election Lab.

State law requires the Oklahoma State Election Board to regularly review the eligibility of voters roughly every two years. Infrequent voters are sent an address confirmation notice by mail. If they don’t respond confirming their address within 60 days. If they fail to meet the timeline, their voter status is switched to “inactive.”

According to state law, if the inactive voters fails to vote in two, consecutive general elections for Federal office,” the Election Board and Secretary of State are required to remove them from the rolls.

“Recounts and post-election audits have consistently proven the accuracy of Oklahoma’s voting system, and our laws and procedures are designed to ensure the integrity and security of our elections,” Secretary of the State Election Board Paul Ziriax said.

October 11: Deadline to register for November election

Inactive voters who haven’t yet been purged can change their status to active by voting in any election or filing a new voter registration.

Yet in a rural state with one of the highest rates of poverty in the nation, missing a single piece of mail could result in a temporary denial of the Constitutional right to vote.

Touting a 2020 state law that bans “ballot harvesting” and mandates post-election audits, Oklahoma Governor Stitt appeared to celebrate the purges of voters Wednesday.

“The State Election Board and the Secretary of State’s office continue to go above and beyond in their responsibility to ensure only eligible Oklahomans can vote in our elections. Their progress reassures me we will continue to lead the nation in election integrity efforts.”

Meanwhile, Republicans have controlled every level of state government for nearly the past two decades and officials have made no plans to support the expansion of voter turnout or awareness.

The deadline to register to vote in the November election is October 11. Click here to register.

The Black Wall St. Times reached out to Governor Stitt’s Office. We asked what guardrails are in place to ensure active voters aren’t accidentally labeled inactive. We also asked whether his office has considered supporting the extension of the 60-day notice for inactive voters to give working Oklahomans and the elderly more time to comply. This story will be updated.

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