OKLAHOMA CITY – A legislative panel endorsed a measure that would add a day to in-person absentee voting prior to a Presidential election, and turned thumbs down on eliminating straight-party voting.
House Bill 2663 would allow in-person absentee voting on Wednesday as well as Thursday and Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., immediately prior to a Presidential election, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday immediately preceding any other election.
In-person absentee voting between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday preceding any state or federal election would not be altered by HB 2663.
The extra day of absentee voting would cost approximately $150,000, an expense that would be borne by county election boards, said House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City.
HB 2663 was approved 5-0 Tuesday by the House Committee on Elections and Ethics.
The committee was less receptive to House Bill 1016, which would eliminate straight-ticket voting.
Oklahoma is one of only six states that still allow straight-party voting, said Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, author of HB 1016.
“What about those who just prefer it that way?” she was asked.
Eliminating straight-ticket voting would provide an opportunity to “educate voters, a chance to seek more from our populace,” Ranson said. Many Oklahomans have no idea who their elected representatives are, she noted. Scrapping straight-party voting might compel voters to devote more time to the issues and candidates in elections, she indicated.
The committee wasn’t persuaded. HB 1016 was rejected on a 1-4 vote. Committee Chairman Jim Olsen, Vice Chairman Max Wolf ley, and Reps. Anthony Moore and Randy Worthen voted “no”. Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, was the sole supporter of the measure.
In a statement released Wednesday, Ranson said “democracy works best with an educated public, and I feel strongly that straight-party voting is a barrier to that opportunity.” A measure that would add a requirement to the ballot title for certain initiative or referendum petitions seeking a statewide vote was approved by the committee in a split vote.
House Bill 1767 would increase to 300 the number of words that could be used in a ballot title for an initiative or referendum if the proposal would have a fiscal impact on the state. Under existing law, a ballot title is limited to 200 words.
The legislation decrees that, “Any question to be submitted to a vote of the people ... that would have the effect of increasing the funding requirements of any department of state government ... shall contain a clear statement, in language understandable by a reasonable person, that if the proposal is approved, additional funding would be required by the applicable department or departments of state government.”
For example, when State Question 802, Medicaid expansion, was submitted to the voters, “Nowhere did it say what the cost to the state would be,” said Rep. Eric Roberts, R-Oklahoma City. Taxpayers are “on the hook for $150-$160 million” as the state’s share of the cost of expanding Medicaid in Oklahoma, said Roberts, author of HB 1767.
“I would call it an investment, not just a cost,” Munson said. Expansion of Medicaid is projected to ultimately provide a financial benefit, she said, by improving the health of tens of thousands of Oklahomans.
The potential return on investment from Medicaid expansion is “still up in the air,” but the amount of money that the State of Oklahoma is obligated to contribute to the program has been fairly well established, Roberts responded.
The committee gave a “do pass” recommendation to HB 1767 on a 4-1 vote; Munson was the lone opponent.