Oklahoma Removes Over 450,000 Ineligible Voters From Rolls

Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times,

Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.) said on Wednesday that Oklahoma has removed over 453,000 ineligible and inactive voter registrations as part of a process to keep voter lists accurate.

State officials said the law requires Oklahoma to update voter lists to ensure only eligible voters participate in elections. The audit and removal of names began in early 2021 to keep voter lists up-to-date, according to the governor’s office.

Since then, almost 100,000 deceased people, over 140,000 who moved out of state, more than 5,000 convicted felons, and nearly 200,000 inactive voters have been removed from voter rolls.

Inactive voters are those who did not respond during the address checks.

“Voting is our most sacred duty as Americans— and every Oklahoman wants to know their vote is securely cast and properly counted,” Stitt said in a Sept. 18 statement.

Just over 2 million people were registered to vote in Oklahoma as of the end of August, half of whom are registered as Republicans, according to data from the state Election Board. Oklahoma has over 534,000 registered Democrats, over 363,000 Independents, and more than 18,000 Libertarians.

The governor said state officials have gone above and beyond to ensure only eligible Oklahomans can vote in the state’s elections.

“All this is going to do is discourage people who are already less inclined to show up to the polls anyway in a deeply red state,” said Democratic state lawmaker Rep. Mauree Turner, who represents Oklahoma City, in comments to Oklahoma Voice.

“My first thought is how many people are in there that have been purged and don’t know that they’ve been purged.”

Secretary of State Josh Cockroft said the steps were necessary and taken in collaboration with the governor’s office, state election officials, and lawmakers.

“We’ve aggressively pursued policies to ensure voting is secure and accurate, and we’re innovating to protect our elections from emerging technology like AI,” Croft said.

“In Oklahoma, every eligible citizen will have their vote counted and their voice heard.”

In recent years, Oklahoma has implemented a range of election integrity measures. The state continues to use hand-marked paper ballots, which are counted by e-scan machines that are not connected to the internet.

Election officials also work closely with Oklahoma Cyber Command to protect the system from potential hackers.

Paul Ziriax, secretary of the bipartisan State Election Board, said the state’s election security is among the best in the nation.

“Oklahoma has a long tradition of doing elections right,” Ziriax said.

“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.”

Oklahoma residents have until Oct. 11 to register to vote in the Nov. 5 general election.