Independent voters surge in state

The Oklahoman Editorial, Monday, March 17, 2008

http://newsok.com/article/3217049/?print=1

WE keep hearing how the Democratic Party is in the ascendancy and there will be no stopping the Democratic nominee from taking the White House. All the momentum is going toward the donkey, even in this conservative state.

Or is it? Oklahoma, which tends not to follow national economic trends, isn’t following this political trend. Over a two-year period ended in January, state Election Board figures show Democratic voter registrations dropped by 8,459 while the Republicans gained 12,308. The big story, though, centers on independent registrations, which grew by 9,715.

Thus, while Republican registrations rose by 1.5 percent and Democratic registrations dropped by just under 1 percent, independent registrations grew by nearly 5 percent. Independents, which accounted for just 1 percent of registered voters in 1969, represent 11 percent of registrations today.

These figures are cause for celebration by the Oklahoma Coalition of Independents (OKIES), an advocacy group pressing the noble cause of improving ballot access in Oklahoma, which is one of the nation's most restrictive access states.

John McCain and Barack Obama have benefited from independent voters. In states where presidential primaries are open to independents, they helped push McCain toward the almost certain GOP nomination and nudged Obama ahead of Hillary Clinton, whose appeal to independents is limited.

Registering as an independent in Oklahoma isn't without sacrifice. Independent voters forfeit the right to participate in closed party primaries. Given the registration trends, however, this downside isn't stopping voters from declaring their independence from the only two political parties that have a chance to win elections in Oklahoma. Clark Duffe, chairman of OKIES, says independent registrations will likely increase in Oklahoma as November nears if McCain and Obama are the nominees.

If so, the likely victim will be the Democratic Party, which could see its registration numbers continue to decline.

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Oklahoma Coalition of Independents
P.O. Box 950
Norman, OK 73070
Phone: 405-370-3431