Oklahoma is one of the last few states with the option to vote straightparty on the ballot, but one Democrat wants to change that.Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, is pressing the Republican-controlled Legislature to end a long-held option that allows voters to simply check a box to select all candidates of a specific political affiliation.“Straight-party voting encourages a lack of engagement,” said Kirt, who is expected to become the Senate’s new minority leader when lawmakers convene in February. “When Oklahomans can vote without having to know the candidates or what they stand for, that’s a problem.”Kirt said officials can do a better job increasing access to candidate information and encouraging more engagement in elections to help Oklahomans choose a preferred candidate instead of relying on the single-punch option.But some say ending straight-party voting is going to be a tough sell.A little less than half a million voters — about 42% of them — checked the straight-party option on the ballot in the 2022 election, said John Wood, University of Central Oklahoma public administration professor. Of those about 70% were Republican and a little less than 30% were Democrat, Wood said.Straight-party voting often benefits the political party in power, Wood said. He said it’s often the party in control that wants straight-party voting because it helps them stay in power.About 34 years ago, Oklahoma Democrats held the majority, and some members of the party argued the straight-party option was important to seniors who might be frail and frustrated by a long ballot, while many members of the Republican party, who were the minority at the time, were against it, Wood said.He said critics of the system argue that it causes people to be blinded by their own party at a time when people see those of the opposite political party as the enemy. Wood said when people see the other party as lesser, there is more fighting across party lines and no compromising or listening to those of the opposing party.There are six states with the option for straight-party voting on the ballot. They are Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma and South Carolina, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.In other states like Texas, supporters argued that eliminating the voting method would slow down the process and make lines longer, said Brett Sharp, a UCO professor of political science and public administration. A state law passed in 2017 abolished the ...
