More than 450,000 voter registrations have been removed from the active voter rolls since 2021, according to an update given by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.
“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 Wednesday statement. “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.”
Oklahoma officials announced as part of the state’s mandatory routine voter list maintenance, more than 456,000 voter registrations have been removed including ineligible voters such as convicted felons and voters who are now deceased.
According to state officials, since Jan. 1, 2021, election officials have removed 97,065 deceased voters, 143,682 voters who moved out-of-state, 5,607 felons, 14,993 duplicate registrations, and 194,962 inactive voters who were canceled during the address verification process. The total number of registrations removed total 456,309.
“Through close collaboration with the Governor’s Office, the State Election Board, and our colleagues in the Legislature, Oklahoma has fortified our electoral process,” Secretary of State Josh Cockroft said in a statement. “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. In Oklahoma, every eligible citizen will have their vote counted and their voice heard.”
The Campaign Finance and Election Threats Task Force, formed by Stitt in November 2023, stated that after numerous successful audits conducted, the task force concluded that “Oklahoma’s electoral process is one of the strongest in the nation.”
Oklahoma continues to use hand marked paper ballots that are counted by e-scan tabulators that do not have the capability to connect to the internet with all recounts done by hand counting.
State voter ID laws require proof of identity for every voter, regardless of whether you’re voting early, absentee, or in-person. Only U.S. citizens who are residents of Oklahoma are allowed to vote in elections.
