Oklahomans have until October 11 to register to vote in November

Oklahomans have until October 11 to register to vote in the upcoming November election. Registration is available online through the Oklahoma Voter Portal.

Tulsa voter Bob Sober emphasized the importance of voting, regardless of political affiliation.

“I’m in the loop,” Sober said. “But everyone has to vote, whether we agree, Republican or Democrat, liberal, independent, you still have to vote.”

A recent social media post from Gov. Kevin Stitt about routine voter roll purges sparked concern among many voters. Julie Dermody, secretary of the Rogers County Election Board, said her office has received several requests from people wanting to check their registration status. She explained that most of those purged were inactive voters who had likely moved away years ago.

“The inactive voters are people who haven't voted in probably eight years, and sometimes they're people who have moved and just haven't registered to vote in their new location,” Dermody said.

The Oklahoma State Election Board regularly updates its voter lists and removes those who are no longer eligible to vote. Gov. Stitt cited a figure of 423,000 voters removed over the past three years, including convicted felons, duplicate registrants, deceased voters and about 143,000 voters who left the state.

Meanwhile, Tulsa's Young Professionals group is working to increase civic engagement by registering voters and organizing meetings with candidates.

“We register people in every party, we have conversations across the spectrum,” said Lauren Miers, who helps lead the group’s government relations. “No matter how you will vote or what party you are registered with, we want you to get out there, exercise your right to vote and cast an informed vote.”