Oklahomans Face Oct. 11 Deadline To Register For November Election

Oklahomans have until Oct. 11 to register to vote in the upcoming November election, with registration available online through the Oklahoma Voter Portal.

Tulsa voter Bob Sober emphasized the importance of voting, regardless of political affiliation.

“I'm up to date,” Sober said. “But everybody has got to vote, whether we agree, Republican or Democrat, liberal, independent, you still have to go vote.”

A recent social media post by Governor Kevin Stitt about the routine purging of voter rolls prompted concerns from many voters. Rogers County Election Board Secretary Julie Dermody said her office received several inquiries from people wanting to verify their registration status. She explained that most of those purged were inactive voters who likely moved away years ago.

“The inactive voters are people who haven't voted in probably eight years, and sometimes, it's people who have moved and just didn't register to vote in their new location,” Dermody said.

The Oklahoma State Election Board regularly updates its voter rolls, removing those no longer eligible. Governor Stitt cited a figure of 423,000 voters removed over the last three years, which includes convicted felons, duplicate registrations, deceased voters, and about 143,000 voters who moved out of state.

Meanwhile, Tulsa's Young Professionals group is working to boost civic engagement by registering voters and organizing candidate meet-and-greets.

“We register folks in every party, we have conversations across the spectrum,” said Lauren Miers, who helps lead Government Relations for the group. “No matter how you're going to vote or what party you're registered with, we want you to come out, exercise your right to vote, and make an informed vote.”