NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Date: March 24, 2014
CONTACT: State Election Board PIO Bryan Dean (405) 522-6624 bdean@elections.ok.gov
Party Affiliation Change Deadline Approaches
(Oklahoma City) – The deadline for registered voters to change their party affiliation for upcoming elections is March 31, State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said.
By statute, changing party affiliation is not allowed from April 1 to Aug. 31. All requests to change party affiliation during that time will be processed Sept. 1.
Oklahoma has a closed primary system, meaning only registered voters of a political party may vote to select their party’s nominees in primary and runoff primary elections.
“In other words, only registered Republicans can vote in Republican primaries, and only registered Democrats can vote in Democratic primaries,” Ziriax said. “Independent voters can vote in non-partisan and general elections, but not in party primaries.”
Party affiliation can be changed by filling out a voter registration application form.
Forms can be downloaded at http://elections.ok.gov. They are also available at tag agencies, post offices, libraries and all 77 county election boards.
Registered voters must be citizens of the United States, residents of the State of Oklahoma and 18 or older before the date of the next election.
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