OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma gained more than 182,100 registered voters in 2020 prior to the Biden/Trump presidential election but lost more than 53,870 in the following 12 months.
The State Election Board released its annual voter registration report on Tuesday, showing 2,218,374 Oklahomans are registered to vote. Registrations in this state numbered 2,272,252 voters on Jan. 15, 2021, and 2,090,107 on that date in 2020.
Oklahoma’s official voter registration statistics are counted every year on Jan. 15, State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax explained.
Republicans still have the largest number of Oklahoma voters, constituting 50.6% of the total, records reflect, followed by Democrats, at 31.4%. However, the Libertarian Party, which gained recognition in 2016, and Independents, especially, have experienced steady gains in the past two years.
Independents, who have no party affiliation, gained almost 49,000 members in the last two years and now constitute 17.2% of the electorate. Libertarians still account for less than 1% of Oklahoma voters, but their numbers increased 61% over the last two years.
Democrats were the largest political party in January 2014 and had been for decades. But when the monthly voter registration count was released on November 30 that year, the GOP had taken the lead, said Misha Mohr, the State Election Board’s public information officer. Republicans constituted 43.6% of the total, Democrats 43.5%, and Independents 12.9%.
The next voter registration deadline is March 21, Ziriax announced. Prospective voters can fill out an application using the OK Voter Portal registration “wizard” or download a Voter Registration Application from the State Election Board website.
Applications also are available at all 77 county election boards, most tag agencies, post offices, and libraries, Ziriax noted.
Voters who need to make changes to their registration can update their address (within the same county) and party affiliation online using the OK Voter Portal or by submitting a new Voter Registration Application to their county election board.