Elections and Voting
Elections
The Oklahoma State Election Board has published its calendar of election dates and deadlines on its website as follows: Oklahoma Elections, Dates and Deadlines. Information about candidate filing is located at Candidate Filing. Information about state questions is located at State Questions.
The Comanche County Democrates manned a voter registration tent at the Comanche Nation Fair. Pictured (left to right) are Ashley Garrett, Terry Gresham, and Kyle Meraz. Meraz, at our monthly meeting on September 16, announced that he is a candidate for State Representative, District 64.
Meraz is running for Oklahoma House of Representative, District 64. He has several progressive planks in his stated platform:
- Healthcare: favors expanded Medicaid and caps on prescription drug prices
- Education: favors higher pay for teachers and a budget that “fully funds our classrooms.”
- Criminal Justice Reform: favors ending our contracts with for-profit prisons, legislation to end mandatory minimum sentencing, and a rehabilitative model that prepares our incarcerated population for full reintegration with society upon release.
- Environment: pledges to prioritize the health of our families, climate, and democracy over fossil fuel industry profits.
- Gun Safety: supports ending open carry, requirig a license to carry a gun in Oklahoma, red flag laws, universal background checks for all gun purchases, and incentivizing safe storage.
- Equality: favors protection for all Oklahomans under the law, non-discrimination legislation, and equal rights for our LGBT+ community.
- Economy: in order to address state budget deficits, growing inequalities and lack of government services in our state, Meraz proposes we restore our state income tax rate to 6% for high income earners (over $200,000 per couple) and 7% for top income earners (over $400,000 per couple). These taxes were cut to a top rate of 5% for top earners in 2016.
Broyles is running for US Senate against Republican incumbent Jim Inhofe. The following are Abbey’s priorities as found at her website:
- A Stronger Oklahoma: Abby believes that a stronger Senate means a stronger state.
- Closing the Gender Pay Gap: Here in Oklahoma, we’re 43rd in the nation when it comes to gender pay equity. Common sense policies can help close the gap.
- Options for Health Care: Abby will work to give everyone access to an affordable and comprehensive option and to protect Oklahomans with pre-existing conditions.
- Climate Change is Real: It’s time to direct our efforts towards concrete steps to reverse climate change, while also protecting our jobs and our way of life.
- Keeping Our Kids Safe: Jim Inhofe will try to pit the safety of our families against our second amendment rights. Abby knows it doesn’t have to be one or the other.
- Criminal Justice System Reform: Oklahoma has the highest incarceration rate in the world. We’ve poured our money into a failing system for too long.
- Taking Care of Service Members: Abby will fight to keep our military bases fully funded and to guarantee the safety and protection of the United States.
- Uplifting Our Farmers: Washington politicians treat rural Oklahoma and Oklahoma farmers as an afterthought. Abby will stand up for our farmers.
- Decriminalizing Marijuana: Oklahomans have voted to make medical marijuana legal, as have those in many other states. It’s time to update federal law.
Bush is running for Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 62. He feels strongly about the following issues:
- Education: We must build our public school system so that our children are blessed with the opportunities and tools they need for success.
- State Budget: We must diversity our revenues and become less dependent on oil and gas.
- Health Care: We must accept Medicaid expansion.
- Criminal Justice Reform: We need to evaluate the elimination of mandatory minimum prison sentences and evaluate steering non-violent drug offenders into rehabilitation programs instead of prison