Republicans become largest political party for the first time in state history

NEWS RELEASE         

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:        Jan. 15, 2015

CONTACT:    State Election Board PIO Bryan Dean, (405) 522-6624 bdean@elections.ok.gov

Republicans become largest political party for the first time in state history

(Oklahoma City) – Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in Oklahoma for the first time in state history according to official annual voter registration statistics released Thursday, State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said.

The state’s official voter registration statistics are counted every year on January 15. Today’s count showed 2,030,277 registered voters as of Jan. 15, 2015. Republicans accounted for 43.6 percent of registered voters. Democrats made up 43.5 percent, and Independents were 12.9 percent. Nine voters are registered as Americans Elect, a political organization which qualified as a political party in 2012 but lost its party status after failing to field a candidate in the 2012 Presidential Election.

Oklahoma’s registered voters:

                                                JAN. 15, 2015

DEMOCRATS                       882,686….43.5%

REPUBLICANS                   886,153….43.6%

AMERICANS                                                9….N/A

INDEPENDENTS                261,429….12.9%

TOTAL                                  2,030,277       

HISTORICAL VOTER REGISTRATION IN OKLAHOMA

The State Election Board began recording statewide voter registration statistics by party in 1960.

YEAR                         DEM                      REP                        IND                     OTHER

1960                            82.0%                    17.6%                    0.4%                      N/A

1980                            75.8%                    22.8%                    1.4%                      N/A

2000                            56.7%                    35.0%                    8.3%                       *

2010                            49.0%                    39.9%                   11.1%                      *

JAN. 15, 2015             43.5%                    43.6%                   12.9%                      *

*Registration for minor recognized parties or political organization was less than 0.0001%.

To view historical voter registration statistics or to download a voter registration application, visit http://elections.ok.gov.

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