Breaking down Oklahoma's purged voters
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Hundreds of thousands of voter registrations in Oklahoma have been removed ahead of the presidential election.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt alongside state election officials announced recently the removal of over 453,500 voter registrations.
However, this was over the course of nearly four years and was done through routine auditing.
"Voter list maintenance is required by both federal and state law, we have processes in place to ensure that our voter rolls are accurate," said Misha Mohr, public information officer, Oklahoma State Election Board.
Through records from the State Election Data Warehouse, News 4 was able to track the voters purged in the last two years.
Over 240,000 voters were removed and of that number 46.6% were Republicans, 31.2% were Democrats, 21.4% were independents and 0.79% were libertarians.
"There are eight very specific reasons why you might be removed from the voter registration rolls. Party affiliation is not a concern to us, that's not part of the voter registration and maintenance process," said Mohr.
The most common reason voters were removed is because they moved states or even counties.
"In Oklahoma you must register to vote in each county, so, for instance, if you move from Oklahoma County to Tulsa County, you do have to register to vote and your voter registration will be removed in Oklahoma County when you register to vote in Tulsa County," said Mohr.
That situation would count in the overall removal even though the voter has already registered in a different county.
The second most common reason for removal was inactivity, people who haven't voted since 2016 or earlier.
While party affiliation doesn't influence who is purged, data shows Democrats and Independents were overrepresented in recent removals for inactivity.
With Democrats, making up about 28% of Oklahoma's registered voters, they represent 34% of registrations deleted for inactivity.
The numbers are even more disproportionate for Independents, who represent 30% of the removed inactive voters, but make up only about 19% of total registered voters.
The state election board says for those who have been removed, most voters can register again.
If you are already registered, Mohr says it's still important to check your status.
The deadline to register to vote in the November election is October 11, 2024. Oklahomans can register to vote here and check their voter registration status here.
Click here for more information on voting registration.