For Immediate Release
September 21, 2020

Media Contact:
Angela Allmond, Communications Director
Oklahoma Democratic Party
angela@okdemocrats.org

Oklahoma Continues to Suppress Voters

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Democratic Party and Chairwoman Alicia Andrews released the following statement on the lawsuit dismissal challenging Oklahoma’s mail-in voting laws:

“The Oklahoma Democratic Party is disappointed in U.S. District Judge John Dowell’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit stating that the current requirements requiring a notary or photocopy of a voter’s ID for mail-in ballots as a reasonable and nondiscriminatory process,” stated Andrews. “We highly disagree with the minimizing decision under the guise of protecting voter fraud versus the “minor burden” on disenfranchised voters as outlandish and is a clear pathway to voter suppression.”

“The voting process must be fair and equal for all voters, not only those fortunate to have the required technology and resources to vote. Notary and photocopying ID restrictions are burdensome to many voters who do not have easy access to a notary or photocopying machines in their homes and are scared to vote in person during a pandemic that puts Oklahoma 5th in the nation on positive cases.

“It is 2020. Outdated, archaic voting procedures need to go. We should find better ways to make voting and mail-in voting as easy as possible so that all Americans can practice their constitutional rights to vote. Barriers to the mail-in voting process do nothing more than further suppress the votes of marginalized groups and put citizens’ health at risk.

“If other states can implement safe mail-in voting procedures forgoing any notary or ID restrictions, Oklahoma can too by focusing on modernizing the process in a truly fair and nondiscriminatory manner and stop suppressing the vote. Oklahoma voters deserve to join the rest of the nation in participating in an updated, safe, and fair mail-in voting process that bolsters voters’ confidence and supports their constitutional right to be heard,” Andrews concluded.

###

For more information about the Oklahoma Democratic Party, visit the party website at okdemocrats.org, or call party headquarters at 405-427-3366.