Bill would require all Oklahoma voters to re-register, show birth certificate
If one state lawmaker has his way, every Oklahoma voter will soon have to re-register if they want to cast a ballot; in addition, they'll have to go to greater lengths to prove their citizenship.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - If one state lawmaker has his way, every Oklahoma voter will soon have to re-register if they want to cast a ballot; in addition, they'll have to go to greater lengths to prove their citizenship.
According to language in Senate Bill 1659 - filed by Republican Senator Jack Stewart - Oklahomans would have to re-register to vote by 2025, provide proof of United States citizenship and proof of current residence to the appropriate county election board to be eligible to vote in any local, state, or federal election.
Those who don't will be placed on a federal election only list and won't be eligible to vote on any local or state ballot.
"We may hear a lot of folks talking about election fraud, voter fraud across the country, but that is not an issue in our own state," said Cindy Nguyen, ACLU Oklahoma.
"Let's just call it what it is. It is a clear attempt to undermine voting rights in a state with already low voter turnout," she added.
Andy Moore, CEO of the non-partisan organization Let's Fix This, which aims to make the electoral process more accessible, agrees.
"As written, this bill is textbook voter suppression. It's not only unnecessary, but it's likely unconstitutional. The state election board already does a really great job of maintaining our voter registration rolls, and this would just cause them to have an undue and unfunded mandate to really change how Oklahomans cast their vote," said Moore.
In a state that already struggles with long wait times for birth certificates and other vital records, Moore believes this could pose a huge hurdle for Oklahoma voters.
In a voicemail earlier this week, Senator Stewart said he could not do an interview with the station before looking more closely at the bill.
"In no way is it my intent to have everybody re-register, is the bottom line," he said in the message.
However, as of this week's bill filing deadline, no changes have been made.
"The good news is that only 15% of the bills introduce actually pass. So there are a lot of stops along the way," said Cindy Nguyen.
KFOR contacted Stewart's office Friday to confirm any bill changes or other changes to the language.
In an email his office said the bill is still a "work in progress," and he may or may not decide to run it.