By Constitution Staff

State Sen. David Holt (R-Oklahoma City) introduced a comprehensive election reform package which includes nine bills and one joint resolution. He says the package is intended to increase Oklahoma's declining voter turnout. The concepts proposed by Holt include transitioning Oklahoma to mail elections and adoption of a "top two" electoral system.

Sen. Holt notes that in 1992, over 70 percent of eligible Oklahomans participated in the presidential election, but by 2012, that percentage had dropped to only 52 percent, third-worst in the nation. In 2014, less than 30 percent of eligible voters participated in the statewide general election. A third of eligible Oklahomans are not even registered. There were fewer registered voters in 2014 than there were in 1988, even though the state's population has grown 22 percent.

"Oklahomans are patriotic, but our voting record is undermining that reputation. Our plunging levels of civic participation are reaching crisis levels," Holt said. "This is an important conversation our state needs to have. This matters because it influences everything else. Oklahomans hand over billions of dollars to government, and they need to stand up and be a part of this process or they likely won't care for the results. Our republic cannot survive if these trends continue. I believe this package of bills, individually and collectively, would increase Oklahoma's turnout." Most of the proposals are directed toward getting uninterested and uninformed voters to the polls. Most conservatives reject this concept and say that is how we end up with people like President Obama. Some of the proposals could also make voter fraud easier.

The following are summaries of each piece of legislation:

SB 310 moves Oklahoma to a mail election starting in 2020. All registered voters would receive ballot by mail and return it by mail or in person. Oklahoma would be the fourth state to adopt this method.

SB 311 creates a top two electoral system in Oklahoma. All candidates, including partisan labels, would appear on the ballot in August. If no candidate receives over 50 percent, the top two would advance to the November General Election. All voters, including independents, would participate to both elections.

SB 312 consolidates all local candidate elections to a cycle in the spring or a cycle in the fall.

SB 313 allows eligible citizens to register to vote online.

SB 314 allows unregistered citizens who have missed the 25-day deadline for registration to register and vote if they appear in-person to the county election board during early voting.

SB 315 allows absentee voters to request to be placed permanently on the absentee voter list, rather than the current practice of requiring an application each year.

SB 316 would change various aspects of absentee voting. Absentee voters could mail a copy of their ID rather than have their ballot notarized. Absentee voters may drop off ballots in person and show ID.

SB 317 expands and streamlines early voting by adding Wednesdays and Saturday afternoons to early voting, and making the hours of operation the same each da. It would also extend early voting opportunities to all elections for elective office.

SB 318 lowers the signatures required to get parties and presidential candidates on the ballot.

SJR 13 would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to lower the signatures required to place issues or referendums on the statewide ballot.

Sen. Holt is one of the more liberal Republicans in the Legislature. His cumulative average score on the Oklahoma Conservative Index is 64 percent.