House committee advances bill to end no-excuse absentee voting

A proposal to end no-excuse absentee voting in Oklahoma narrowly advanced 4-3 through the House Elections and Ethics Committee last week. Critics fear the measure could discourage voter participation and fuel election fraud paranoia.

House Bill 1515 by Rep. Molly Jenkins, R-Coyle, requires voters to certify why they’re unable to vote in-person on election day or during early voting. Acceptable excuses include being 75 or older, travel, work and military service.

Jenkins said she could not cite an example of someone abusing the absentee voting system. She said she did not foresee a need for election officials to deny an application or further investigate why someone wishes to vote absentee.

“The goal of this is to strengthen the integrity of the election,” Jenkins told the committee. “When a person has to list a reason it gives them pause to think about what they’re doing.”

Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, criticized the proposal, arguing that the state doesn’t survey residents on why they’d like to purchase a firearm or attend a religious institution.

“No fundamental right in the U.S. requires citizens to justify why they’re exercising it,” Dollens wrote on X.

Two Republicans, Reps. Denise Crosswhite Hader and Clay Staires, joined Dollens in voting no against the bill. It was tied 3-3 in committee, but Speaker Pro Tempore Anthony Moore voted yes to break the tie. It’s now eligible to be considered in a House oversight committee, where it faces a March 6 deadline to continue on in the legislative process.

Several other notable election bills have advanced during the first three weeks of the legislative session, including:

• House Bill 2106 by Mike Osburn, R-Edmond: Reduces the number of election dates, setting four to five dates in odd-numbered years and seven to eight dates in even-numbered years. Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, is running a similar bill in the upper chamber.

• House Bill 1151 by Chris Banning, R-Bixby: Aligns school board elections with general and primary election dates.

• Senate Bill 890 by Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville: Requires local and municipal candidates to file campaign finance reports with the Ethics Commission.

Oklahoma Watch (OklahomaWatch.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.