Hotly contested races for both the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations could lead to a near-record turnout today for Oklahoma's presidential primary elections.
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State Election BoardSecretary Michael Clingman said he expects about 550,000 people to vote. That would be "a little over 30 percent from both parties.”
That would be second among presidential primaries only to 1996 when 631,146 voters turned out to vote because of a controversial state question that proposed freezing property taxes, he said.
The big turnout that year was because of the state question, not the presidential primaries where the races had already been pretty much decided, Clingman said.
Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton generally are considered to be the Democratic front-runners, while John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are considered to be the Republicans with the best chances.
The names of seven Democrats and 11 Republicans will appear on Oklahoma ballots, even though some of the candidates are considered long shots and others have withdrawn from the race. The announcements were too late to change the ballots.
This year is unusual for Oklahomans because they will be able to vote in a presidential primary with the nominee of both parties still very much in doubt, Clingman said.
The National Weather Service is predicting weather to turn cold and damp during the day, which could keep some less committed voters from going to the polls, but Clingman said he believes a lot of voters will go to the polls anyway.
"We were seeing a huge amount of activity a few weeks ago,” Clingman said. "The request for absentee ballots was unprecedented (for a presidential primary).” ... It felt like a general election for a while.”
Clingman said requests from early voters began tapering off after some candidates dropped out of the race.
There are 1,008,590 Democrats, 786,933 Republicans and 219,000 independents who are registered to vote in Oklahoma.
Can independents vote?
Since Oklahoma has a closed primary system, Independent voters will only be allowed to vote on local issues and will not be able to vote on any of the presidential candidates today, Clingman said.
He said a lot of young people initially register as Independents in Oklahoma, but change their registrations after discovering they can't vote on presidential candidates during the primary.
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Molly, Molly, Molly, Molly, Molly. Were you earning a paycheck in 1993 when Bill Clinton pushed through a retroactive tax increase? My taxes doubled that year. Were you earning a paycheck in 2001 when President Bush pushed through a tax cut, increased the child tax credit, and removed the marriage penalty? Those tax cuts and credits will expire in 2010 and neither Hillary or Barak want to make them permanent. They need that money to pay for all this extra stuff they are promising, not just to the American people, but to the "12-20 million" illegal aliens they have promised amnesty to. It is the Democrats who oppose a balanced budget. You have some homework to do before you vote again.
Richard. Until Dr. Coburn endorsed McCain, Huckabee was leading in the polls in Oklahoma. McCain is a pork-busting fiscal conservative and has been helpful to Senator Coburn in his efforts to reduce spending. Bet ya'll did not know Dr. Coburn introduced legislation that saved taxpayers almost 2 trillion dollars in '06 and '07. That is the only positive thing I can say about McCain politically.
Believe it, Steven, I work and I voted for Hillary as did others I know. I find humorous that you have the audacity to make a comment about taxes when Dubya is proposing a 3.1 TRILLION budget--where do you think the money is going to come from to pay for something like that when that moron cuts taxes and spends more than what's brought in. I have hope that with Hillary in office, we'll be hearing about balanced budgets and surpluses just like when Bill was in office, unlike Dubya, who is following his daddy's footsteps--deficits, recessions, etc.
Huckadoom and Huckacaust are better words to describe Huck. He is the most ignorant candidate regarding foreign policy, defense, economy, health care, and on and on. He would be an embarrassment to the American and he could never get in.Yes, the republican party loses and so does the American people if McCain were to win. All that McCain has is name recognition and a lot of enemies. Most of Arizona'a republican leaders are against him as reported by the Washington Post and other news media. McCain's own district republican chairman called out McCain as a liar, to the press. He is an emotionally unstable tyrant.
Romney is the finest candidate that we have had run in decades. His ecpertise regarding the economy is necessary at this time of economic chaos. His amazing family and strong values are just extras. Romney is against amnesty, unlike McCain who heralds in amnesty. Romney has proved to be a genius regarding health care and has solid policies regarding Iraq. I will support Romney all of the way to the white house.
Okay, Molly, do you expect me to believe that someone who works would vote for Clinton? Are you upset because not enough taxes are being withheld from your check so you want a dictator to take more and spend it for you?
I won't be voting for the Dem's, Hillary just plain scares the hebejebes out me. She's to power hungry, and Obama is very inexperienced, that's like throwing the baby to the wolves. I'll go Repub. and just close my eyes. It's ashame that out all the U.S., this is all we can come up with.
The Constitution of the United States of America was written for WE THE PEOPLE, not for government. Our constitutional right to vote is a responsibility to keep government in check that too few accept, then say things like "They are going to do what they want to do anyway".
We have opportunities today like never before with internet access to be better informed than ever before but too many use their computer for a toy and not the tool it could be.
Main Stream Media has been in the business of INFLUENCING the public instead of informing us for quite some time. Today will decide the direction our country goes in more than any other day in the history of our Republic, not the General Election in November.
Secretary Clingman is expecting only a 30% turnout for this election and I think everyone who does not participate should hang their head in shame.
My preferred candidate has withdrawn from the contest but is still on the ballot and when I go to the polls I will mark my ballot for him anyway because I am not enthused about the ones who remain active.
Were I one of you who "Just don't like any of them" I would cast a vote for "none of the above" by sticking an unmarked ballot in the machine, but I would never just not participate.
We cannot take our country back if 70% of the people do nothing!
People who fully understand the constitution will more than likely vote Ron Paul which I do hope he wins. However this country has strayed away so far they think socialism is the norm.
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Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.
Romney is the finest candidate that we have had run in decades. His ecpertise regarding the economy is necessary at this time of economic chaos. His amazing family and strong values are just extras. Romney is against amnesty, unlike McCain who heralds in amnesty. Romney has proved to be a genius regarding health care and has solid policies regarding Iraq. I will support Romney all of the way to the white house.
ROMNEY '08
We have opportunities today like never before with internet access to be better informed than ever before but too many use their computer for a toy and not the tool it could be.
Main Stream Media has been in the business of INFLUENCING the public instead of informing us for quite some time. Today will decide the direction our country goes in more than any other day in the history of our Republic, not the General Election in November.
Secretary Clingman is expecting only a 30% turnout for this election and I think everyone who does not participate should hang their head in shame.
My preferred candidate has withdrawn from the contest but is still on the ballot and when I go to the polls I will mark my ballot for him anyway because I am not enthused about the ones who remain active.
Were I one of you who "Just don't like any of them" I would cast a vote for "none of the above" by sticking an unmarked ballot in the machine, but I would never just not participate.
We cannot take our country back if 70% of the people do nothing!