Oklahoma Lawmakers Move to Block Ranked Choice Voting
Most Oklahoma lawmakers want nothing to do with Ranked Choice Voting. A measure to ban the practice in the state that recently passed the Senate and was sent to Gov. Kevin Stitt for a signature.
Ranked choice voting is exactly what it sounds like, a system in which voters list their candidates for an elected position in order of preference.
Candidates with the fewest votes have their totals spread evenly to those with more votes, until there is a winner.
House Bill 31-56 is a sweeping prohibition of the practice in Oklahoma.
"I believe that voting, being such a fundamental right, is something that should be protected. Especially when it comes to one vote to one voter," said Altus Republican Brent Howard, who carried the measure in the Senate.
Howard says ranked-choice voting would dilute the influence of one person's vote by spreading it to candidates they didn’t mean to select for office.
Democrats opposing the bill say the voting method ensures a more even playing field for third-party candidates…and voters with diverse stances on issues.
The measure passed the Senate along party lines. It’s now on the governor’s desk.
Woman Arrested At Oklahoma State Board of Education Meeting
An Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting was interrupted by the arrest of an activist Thursday afternoon.
Audra Beasley was at the meeting to advocate for better access in public buildings for people with disabilities.
But when the three minutes she was given to address the board were over, she continued, and refused requests to stop. The mother of three was escorted out of the meeting in handcuffs by state troopers.
"Y’all are arresting me in front of my children. Because this man over here is a bigot and a bully picking on trans kids. Picking on disabled kids. Picking on my kids. My kids are crying Ryan Walters," Beasley said.
News outlet Oklahoma Voice reports she was booked into Oklahoma County jail and faces misdemeanor charges of willfully disrupting state business.
A family friend took the kids away from the scene. Board meetings under Walters have become raucous affairs as members of the public camp out in front of the state department for hours to grab one of the few spots in the public comment queue.
Oklahoma Senate Overrides Governor's Veto of Survivors' Act, Uncertainty Looms in House
One day after Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act, the Senate voted to override it. But, the House might not do the same.
Despite having approved Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat’s SB 1470 with a vote of 84 to three last week, Treat says he doesn’t expect the House to override Stitt’s veto.
"I think the Speaker of the House has turned his chamber over to the Governor to allow him to run that place right now," Treat said.
SB 1470 would create the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act, which directs the courts to reduce the sentences of survivors of domestic violence who were being abused at the time they committed a crime and whose abuse can be proven to be a substantial contributing factor to said crime.
In a press availability on Thursday, Treat went on to say he believes the House will put the language of SB 1470 in a trailer bill that specifies the abuse must be directly related to the crime, echoing a concern Gov. Stitt expressed in his veto message.
The legislative session ends at the end of next month.
OKC Thunder Secure 2-0 Lead in Playoff Series Against New Orleans Pelicans, Prepares for Road Challenge in Game 3
The Oklahoma City Thunder has a two to nothing lead in their best-of-seven NBA playoff series against the New Orleans Pelicans. OKC now heads out on the road for Game 3 Saturday afternoon
The Thunder defended their home court in the first two games of the series, but they now face the next two in enemy territory.
Coach Mark Daigneault says they expect the crowd to be loud and their opponent to be hungry for a win, but his team must continue to work and compete.
“We can’t get distracted by the series being 2-0. We can’t get distracted by the road crowd or really anything else," Daigneault said. "We’ve just gotta stay focused on the things that are gonna stack up to a win, and that’s what we’re gonna focus on.”
Game 3 against the Pelicans tips off in New Orleans at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon on TNT.
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