Settlement will help help more Oklahomans vote

voter-registration
Photo by Edward Kimmel / CC BY-SA 2.0

Low voter turnout is a serious problem in Oklahoma, as we’ve discussed previously in issue briefs and blog posts. Most recently, just one in three eligible voters in Oklahomans went to the polls in the 2014 mid-term election. Electoral disengagement is especially acute for  low-income citizens. Yet thanks to an important agreement reached last month, it will be easier for more low-income Oklahomans to register to vote and engage in the electoral process.

Electoral participation is a cornerstone of our representative democracy. The vote allows citizens to participate freely and fairly in the political process and ensures that elected officials stay accountable to their constituents. When citizens don’t vote, their opinions and interests may go unrepresented. The vote is especially important for disadvantaged groups, such as low-income citizens, racial minorities, and those with disabilities, who have little capacity to hire lobbyists, donate to campaigns, or find other ways to exercise political influence. Yet, with some exceptions, these groups tend to have the lowest rates of voter turnout.

In the last two national election years, households with annual income below $30,000 have registered and voted at rates ten to fifteen percentage points below the national average and fifteen to twenty points below households with incomes above $30,000, according to election surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau (see graph). In Oklahoma, overall registration and voting rates have lagged considerably below the national average and have fallen to among the very lowest in the nation.

TurnoutbyIncome2012-14(2)In order to facilitate and encourage voting by all segments of the population, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the Motor Voter Act, included a requirement that states provide voter registration services to individuals who apply for public benefits, such as Medicaid, food stamps (now the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and the WIC nutrition program. Section 7 of the NVRA specifically requires state agencies to ask each applicant if they would like to register to vote and to distribute a voter registration application with each application, recertification, renewal, and change of address, unless the applicant or client declines in writing.

In August 2012, Demos and other national organizations, on behalf of the Metropolitan Tulsa Urban League, the League of Women Voters of Oklahoma and Metropolitan Tulsa and the YWCA Tulsa, sent a notice letter to the Oklahoma State Elections Board asserting that the state was out of compliance with its responsibilities under  the NVRA. According to the notice:

The biennial EAC [Election Assistance Commission] data show that the number of voter registration applications reported statewide by Oklahoma public assistance agencies declined dramatically since the initial implementation of the NVRA – from 58,811 registrations in 1995-96 to only 11,122 in 2011-2012, a decline of 81 percent.

The complaint used administrative data and fieldwork with DHS and Health Department clients to establish that the state was violating the law and threatened litigation if officials did not take action to come into compliance.

[pullquote]”This landmark agreement in a Republican-dominated state shows the bipartisan importance of ensuring the right to vote, and will undoubtedly serve as a model for the region.”[/pullquote]Although they disputed the alleged violations, Oklahoma’s Election Board, along with leadership from the three agencies cited in the complaint – DHS, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the State Health Department – worked closely and successfully with Demos and other organizations to address the problem. Under a 29-page settlement announced July 30th, each agency will be required to ask clients if they want to register to vote and provide help with the process as part of in-person, phone-based, and online client services. Each agency will assign a staff member to be responsible for coordinating voter registration services and training other employees. The Election Board will appoint a statewide coordinator to ensure compliance, and they will report monthly data on the number of completed voter registration applications and other indicators.

In a press release, the lead attorney in the case, Jenn Borchetta of Demos, stated: “This landmark agreement in a Republican-dominated state shows the bipartisan importance of ensuring the right to vote, and will undoubtedly serve as a model for the region.”

The Oklahoman reacted less favorably to the agreement, questioning why poor people required special assistance with voter registration and asserting that Oklahoma doesn’t needs “apathetic people badgered into voting.” In reality, no one will be badgered into voting. The agreement simply ensures that the guiding principles of the National Voter Registration Act – that citizens be provided voter registration services wherever they interact with government agencies, whether applying for a drivers’ license or Medicaid – will be implemented. Helping more low-income people with voter registration will strengthen the fundamental democratic right to vote and hopefully make our political representatives more responsive to all the citizens they serve.

Learn More // Do More

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Former Executive Director David Blatt joined OK Policy in 2008 and served as its Executive Director from 2010 to 2019. He previously served as Director of Public Policy for Community Action Project of Tulsa County and as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma State Senate. He has a Ph.D. in political science from Cornell University and a B.A. from the University of Alberta. David has been selected as Political Scientist of the Year by the Oklahoma Political Science Association, Local Social Justice Champion by the Dan Allen Center for Social Justice, and Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers.

3 thoughts on “Settlement will help help more Oklahomans vote

  1. One can only hope. Those voters, or more specifically, those who at present don’t vote, are in greater part the most disengaged, most disenfranchised and often the most disillusioned of citizens. They comprise those that feel rebuked, degraded, slighted at almost every turn and often ridiculed or denied a voice in most political arenas. Along with the ignorant and apathetic, changing the core of the problem requires more than simply getting one to sign up… it requires promising someone who no longer “believes”, that he or she will once again be given a voice AND have it be heard!
    In an atmosphere which blatantly appears corporately “owned”, extreme & far right-ly manipulated & overtly religiously dictated, Oklahoma fares most unlikely to succeed.
    Give them a reason to believe they will indeed be a part of the “process”, that they will seriously have a voice and be heard. And that every vote actually counts in fracked-up Oklahoma where it’s capitol city has been ordered, law orchestrated by the Governor, that it can not raise it’s minimum wage above the federal wage, where cities & towns can not vote to ban drilling and where those who fall between the cracks are not allowed insurance as offered under federal law…. convince them, convince Us, convince all of us right, middle or left,, that we have a say in a state where Oil companies get tax handouts and education gets slapped about like the proverbial red-headed stepchild. NOW, Convince ME, a longtime registered voter, why the hell I should bother to vote in Oklahoma next time.
    “… a model for the region”, bless their sweet, naive & optimistic little hearts.

  2. “Badgered”?? Typical reaction from the country’s worst daily newspaper. All voting, rather in person or absentee, requires some effort on the part of the voter–it’s called involvement. As for the Joklahoman’s opinion, I’d rather be badgered than suppressed.

  3. Under new Oregon law, all eligible voters are registered unless they opt out. Oregon’s voting rate has increased tremendously. Such a simple and easy way to give busy Americans a solution to have a voice in their government. Could this not be attempted here in Oklahoma? If our conservative legislature disagrees, would a petition be the next step to put a vote of the people on the next ballot? Hopefully, the article below can be clicked on to view or pasted in your browser. Such a wonderful idea from Oregon:

    http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-oregon-automatic-voter-registration-20150317-story.html

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.