Straight-Party Voting (Straight-Ticket Voting)

Oklahoma allows straight-party voting, also known as straight-ticket voting, in general elections. Straight-party voting enables a voter to select one political party’s complete slate of candidates for every office by making a single mark on his or her ballot. Oklahoma is one of only 6 states still allowing straight-party voting as of 2024, along with Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and South Carolina, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Fifteen states have abolished straight-party voting since 1994; in some instances, repeal efforts have led to extensive legal battles.

In the last two midterm elections (2018 and 2022), slightly more than 40 percent of Oklahoma voters have opted to cast straight-party ballots, up from 34 percent in 2014. The share of straight-party ballots rose from 36 percent in the 2016 Presidential contest to 46 percent in 2020, before declining to just under 38 percent in 2024. In each of the general elections of the 2020s, some 70 percent of those voting straight-party have supported the Republican Party, compared to just under 30 percent opting for the Democratic ticket.