Elections and Ethics

Rep. Chris Banning, R-Bixby, has again filed legislation to change the date of school board elections in Oklahoma. If passed, House Bill 1151 would move school board elections to the same cycle as House and Senate elections, as well as modify term lengths for school board members by making both elementary district boards and independent district boards four-year terms. Under state statute, school districts must reimburse county election boards for all costs of school board elections. In 2023, these elections cost Oklahoma school districts a combined $16.8 million, taxpayer funds Banning said could go toward other purposes. "This bill is simple—it repurposes millions of dollars for our amazing educators while providing a more accurate representation of community standards at the polling place," Banning said. Under HB1151, these elections would move to the same schedule as legislative elections, which are held in June and November. Currently, school board elections are held in February and April. Banning said there are many examples of very low voter turnout in these elections. He pointed out the April 2024 election to fill Union Public Schools Board seat for Zone 4, which only 146 people voted in. Last year, Banning ran a nearly identical measure, House Bill 3563, which passed the House Elections and Ethics Committee but was not heard on the House floor. HB1151 will be eligible for consideration in the upcoming legislative session, which begins Mon., Feb. 3.

On Tuesday, Rep. Chris Banning, R-Bixby, held an interim study to examine aligning school board elections with on-cycle elections. IS24-018 was held before the Elections and Ethics House Committee. Currently, Oklahoma statute mandates school board elections be held on off-cycle rotations and not in November. Banning said Oklahoma is one of only 12 states with such a mandate. Dr. Bradley Ward, Oklahoma deputy director for Americans for Prosperity, discussed the potential benefits of aligning school board elections with on-cycle elections. Ward's analysis, based on data from the Oklahoma State Election Board, shows that an average of 6% of registered voters participated in Oklahoma's local school board elections in April 2024. Using data from the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System, Ward's calculations indicate that Oklahoma school districts spent about $16.8 million on election services in 2023. Ward projected that shifting elections to on-cycle elections could save and repurpose about $17 million for school needs. During his presentation, Ward shared case studies from Texas and Michigan, highlighting how these states increased voter turnout. In 2006, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1, shifting 174 school districts to on-cycle elections. Ward said that, as a result, voter turnout increased significantly. "After the Michigan Legislature passed House Bill 4005 in 2011, the following year saw a remarkable surge in voter turnout in their 2012 school board elections," Ward said. "With some districts experiencing a voter increase of over 1600%." During the study, Ward said that based on the case studies from red states such as Texas and historically blue states such as Michigan, this policy is a bipartisan way to effectively save school districts money, align elections, and increase voter turnout and accountability. "Again, this legislation is simple," Banning said. "It increases voter turnout, which leads to accurate community representation in our education system while saving tens of millions for our amazing educators."

Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, commented on the consistently high performance of the state of Oklahoma in election integrity. "Oklahomans are very concerned with the issue of election integrity," Olsen said. "They want election results to be accurate, and not fraudulent. I am happy to report that for a number of years, Oklahoma has had an excellent system. I am especially happy to report that our performance is steadily improving. "The Heritage Foundation rates every state in the country on their election integrity. Last year, Oklahoma had a very good rating of 13th in the country. This year we are rated as #5 in the country. So we are deliberately moving closer to perfection." Olsen also remarked that the Oklahoma State Election Board has been very helpful to work with the Legislature in the goal of continuous improvement toward perfection in election integrity. The Oklahoma State Election Board released audit findings Monday confirming 100% accuracy of June's primary election results. Olsen said Oklahoma’s rise in the rankings can be attributed to recently enacted legislation that strengthened voter ID requirements, improved the accuracy of voter registration lists, prohibited the private funding of elections, and banned the use of ranked-choice voting.