Oklahoma Political News

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has agreed to release what was previously considered private voter data to the federal government.

In exchange for the release of Oklahoman’s voter information, the U.S. Department of Justice agreed to dismiss its federal lawsuit against State Election Secretary Paul Ziriax.

“The State of Oklahoma will cooperate with efforts to eliminate voter fraud and safeguard the electoral process in accordance with the law,” Drummond said in a statement. “We are committed to both election integrity and the protection of personal information.”

The action comes a day after two civic engagement groups sought to intervene in the lawsuit to stop the release of Oklahomans’ protected voter data.

Read the full story at Oklahoma Voice.

Oklahoma County’s District 3 Commissioner Myles Davidson announced his resignation Friday evening, less than two weeks after a woman was granted a protective order against him following allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

In a letter submitted to the Oklahoma County Clerk late Friday, Davidson formally tendered his resignation, effective Friday, April 3rd, turning the seat over to his Chief Deputy, Paul Foster, for the remainder of his term before the already scheduled election for the District 3 seat in November.

Read the full story at Oklahoma City Free Press.

The deadline is approaching for voters to change party affiliations.

March 31 is the deadline for registered voters to change parties or designate as an independent.

May 22 is the cutoff date for first-time voters to register to participate in upcoming primaries, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board.

Read the full story at Oklahoma Voice.

The Task Force Model may not be just an enforcement tool for Oklahoma. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025, it could be a revenue stream, but details remain unclear.

Read the full story at Oklahoma City Free Press.

With U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) awaiting pending confirmation of his appointment as U.S. secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK1) broke the seal today on what will likely be a crowded Republican field in an open primary for the Senate seat. Hern had previously indicated he would run for reelection, but official candidate filing is not until April.

Read the full story at NonDoc.

A petition effort to change Oklahoma’s primary system fell short of the required signature threshold to make it to a future ballot, the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Office announced Thursday.

Organizers for State Question 836 turned in more than 200,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office, but it’s unclear how many of the signatures were able to be verified. To make the ballot, at least 172,993 valid signatures were required.

Read the full story at NonDoc.

President Donald Trump’s plan to nominate U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as Homeland Security secretary will leave an unexpected Senate vacancy in deep-red Oklahoma.

Under a new Oklahoma law, Gov. Kevin Stitt will get to pick Mullin’s replacement if he does indeed leave his Senate seat. Stitt said in a statement Thursday he will look to appoint “a strong, small government conservative voice to support President Trump.”

Read the full story at AP News.

A long-awaited special audit of the Oklahoma State Department of Education found no misuse of taxpayer funds under former state Superintendent Joy Hofmeister.

State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd released the findings during a news conference Wednesday. Gov. Kevin Stitt requested the audit in 2021 while at odds with Hofmeister, who was term-limited in 2023.

Read the full story at Oklahoma Voice.

Deals Under State’s Operation Guardian Raise Questions About Anonymity, Bounties and Due Process

ICE’s plans got a major boost from the state of Oklahoma last year when Governor Kevin Stitt announced “Operation Guardian,” which deputized members of the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, and the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety to carry out immigration enforcement on behalf of ICE. In all, more than 30 Oklahoma departments or agencies have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE, including many small town police departments.

But while law enforcement has championed the agreements, immigration attorneys say many arrests are indiscriminate, that the majority of ICE enforcement actions in Oklahoma target immigrants with no criminal charges, and some who are following the law to legally immigrate.

Read the full story at Oklahoma City Free Press.

A group of Republican lawmakers have urged the state’s top education official to investigate student walkouts, a method of youth protest for decades.

Over the past two weeks, students across the state have walked out of public high schools to hold demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose tactics during a mass deportation campaign have become a nationwide controversy.

Read the full story at Oklahoma Voice.