In Oklahoma, former President Donald Trump is aiming to maintain his impressive record as he faces off against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for the state’s electoral votes totaling seven. Alongside the presidential election, Oklahomans will determine several congressional and state legislative positions, and they will also deliberate a proposal to amend the state constitution to prevent noncitizens from voting.
Oklahoma has established itself as one of the strongest Republican bastions in the nation, with the GOP presidential nominee receiving no less than 65% of the vote in the last five elections. The state provided Trump with his third-largest victory margin in 2016 and the fourth-largest in 2020. Trump’s 36-point lead over Hillary Clinton in 2016 marked the most significant victory for a Republican candidate in the state since Ronald Reagan’s 38-point win against Walter Mondale in 1984.
Democrats have not managed to capture the state’s support in a presidential election since Lyndon Johnson did so six decades ago. In fact, since the year 2000, no Democratic presidential candidate has won even a single county in Oklahoma, a stark contrast to Al Gore’s success in claiming nine counties back then.
One of the prominent issues on the ballot this year is “State Question 833,” which seeks to amend the state’s constitution to assert that only U.S. citizens can cast votes. In the upcoming elections, eight states will pose questions regarding noncitizen voting restrictions. Currently, noncitizens are prohibited from voting in federal elections, and no state allows this practice in state elections either. However, some municipalities and D.C. permit noncitizen voting for local elections, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. This noncitizen voting issue has become increasingly favored within Republican narratives at both federal and state levels, with evidence of this trend seen in July when the Republican-controlled U.S. House passed a bill imposing proof of citizenship for voter registration.
Additionally, all five of Oklahoma’s Republican incumbents in the U.S. House are campaigning for reelection in districts where they are expected to prevail. Within the state Legislature, the Republican Party holds significant supermajorities in both chambers, and these majorities are not anticipated to be threatened in the upcoming elections. Out of Oklahoma’s 48 state Senate seats, half are up for election, alongside all 101 state House seats.
As for key information surrounding the upcoming election, here are the details: The election date is set for November 5, with polling closing at 8 p.m. ET. The presidential candidate race includes Harris (D), Trump (R), Chase Oliver (Libertarian), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (independent), and several others. The ballot also features State Question 834, which requires citizenship to vote. Other races include elections for the U.S. House, state Senate, state House, the corporation commissioner, and one additional measure.
In terms of historical voting data, in the 2020 presidential election, Trump secured 65% of the vote while Biden obtained 32%, with results being finalized on November 3, 2020, at 8 p.m. ET. As for voter registration and turnout, there are 2,413,155 registered voters in Oklahoma as of October 1, 2024, comprising approximately 27% Democrats, 52% Republicans, and 20% independents. Voter turnout in the previous presidential election reached about 69% of registered voters.
In previous elections, votes cast prior to Election Day in 2020 accounted for about 29% of the total votes, whereas in 2022, about 18% were cast early. The projected data for early voting in 2024 can be tracked through official updates. The vote-counting process typically begins with initial results reported by 8:19 p.m. ET on Election Night, and by midnight ET, nearly all votes are usually accounted for.