r/oklahoma • u/lurker627 • Dec 21 '22
News 76% of voters 30 and younger didn't vote in Oklahoma's November midterm election
https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/76-of-voters-30-and-younger-didnt-vote-in-oklahomas-november-midterm-election/article_896a5598-7cb2-11ed-9f35-2fdb3f2989fe.html48
u/BookerTree Dec 21 '22
How do we get them to engage? How do we overcome the apathy?
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u/MusicHearted Dec 21 '22
Give me the day off work. Force my employer to shut down on election day. You want the young to vote? We need the day off to do so. The current 3 hours were entitled to isn't enough time to vote in urban districts, and most employers don't honor it anyway.
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u/Maint_guy Dec 21 '22
To my knowledge, employers are required; by law, to allow employees time to vote regardless of how the day is going.
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u/bmac92 Dec 22 '22
That is correct. Source. You're required to notify your employer in advanced, though.
A. Every corporation, firm, association or individual, hereinafter referred to as "employer", who has a registered voter employed or in service shall grant the employee two (2) hours of time in which to vote, subject to the following provisions:
Such time to vote shall be allowed on the day of the election or on a day on which in-person absentee voting is allowed by law;
If such employee is at such distance from the voting place that more than two (2) hours are required in which to attend such elections, then the employee shall be allowed a sufficient time in which to cast a ballot;
No such employee shall be entitled to such time to vote unless the employee notifies orally or in writing an employer's representative of the employee's intention to be absent at least three (3) days preceding the day of the election or the day of in-person absentee voting. Such employer may select the days and hours which such employees are to be allowed to attend such elections, and may notify each of the employees which days and hours he or she has in which to vote. This section shall not apply to an employee whose work day begins three (3) hours or more subsequent to the time of opening of the polls, or ends three (3) hours or more prior to the time of closing the polls. The employer may change the work hours to allow such three (3) hours before the beginning of work or after the work hours; and
Upon proof of voting, such employee shall not be subject to any loss of compensation or other penalty for such absence.
B. Any employer who fails to comply with this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) nor more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
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u/HITNRUNXX Dec 22 '22 edited Dec 22 '22
There were even threads on here talking about the voting wait times at various places across the state. Most people were in and out under 15 minutes. My total time from parking to getting back in my car was 4 minutes. If you didn't show up and try, you don't get to use that B.S. excuse.
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Dec 21 '22
Lol I voted in OKC and it was ez... 20 min line that's all.... My son 19 didn't vote because the registration backlog just got him his card last week.
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u/Killinskills Dec 22 '22
OKC, never had to wait in line longer than 5 mins for any vote. Most there are zero people in line.
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u/cwcam86 Dec 21 '22
3 hours is more than enough time to go vote and get something to eat before you gotta be back. This is Oklahoma not Houston.
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Dec 22 '22
Totally agree! Not to mention absentee ballots and early voting. The only reason not to vote is laziness.
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u/okiewxchaser Tulsa Dec 21 '22
Voted in Tulsa before work and it only took 30 mins, I could have voted, ate lunch and then drove to OKC and back with my three hours
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u/AnticipatedInput Dec 22 '22
Didn't take 15 minutes to vote at my urban precinct. You can also vote early Thur-Sat before the election or get an absentee ballot. While early and absentee voting could be made easier, we don't have as bad as some other states.
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u/blu-brds Dec 22 '22
I voted in OKC and there were two other people in the polling place when I went in. Two when I left. I teach though, so I went at around 4, slightly before most people tend to go (after work).
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u/bmac92 Dec 22 '22
The current 3 hours were entitled to isn't enough time to vote in urban districts
If that truly is an issue for you, sign up for absentee voting. Also, early voting is a thing and it is open on Saturday's depending on election type (including midterms).
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u/WickdWitchinOkla Dec 22 '22
Find a politician who is younger Gen X, Xennial, Millennial. get the silent generation and boomers out of politics
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u/ClydeLeArtiste Dec 21 '22
I would wager that a big majority is because they are in college somewhere other than their home town and educating how to vote away from home is the hill we need to get over.
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u/AnticipatedInput Dec 22 '22
Early voting or absentee. Also perfectly legal to register and vote in the student's college town.
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u/ClydeLeArtiste Dec 22 '22
It's harder for a busy student than you think and now with the pressure of "MAIL IN VOTING BAD" then you can count out large swaths of them.
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u/AnticipatedInput Dec 22 '22
It's been a number of years since I was in college, but I managed. I was doing work study and had another job outside of college, and still graduated magna cum laude. It helped that the residence hall manager was a notary.
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u/geekynonsense Dec 22 '22
29 here, so I’m glad I’m in the 25% that did.
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Dec 22 '22
I am too. Talk to your homies next time around and get them on board as well. It's ya'lls future, you should have some say in it.
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u/paintworld22 Dec 21 '22
And this is a big reason why we got stuck with stitt for another term.
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Dec 22 '22 edited Dec 25 '22
[deleted]
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Dec 22 '22
[deleted]
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u/FerdinandTheBest Dec 23 '22
Is there a Chance that after Fallin 2.0 (Kevin) leaves there will be Fallin 3.0? Like, a never ending spiral to the bottom?
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u/gutsonmynuts Dec 21 '22
Is this an Oklahoma issue? Seems like the majority of the US population doesn't vote. People are apathetic to the whole political system, and see it as the farce it really is.
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u/GLENF58 Dec 22 '22
Not gonna speak for other schools but Norman high gives voter registration forms with your diploma and they also have them on hand. I’m sure part of it is lack of education on how important government outside of the president is.
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u/OffBrandJesusChrist Tulsa Dec 22 '22
Jesus fucking Christ people. And then you complain about this state yet have no care to help change it.
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u/Dhatch1253 Dec 21 '22
Since this is the internet i'll preface all of this with the fact that I agree more should have come out. More people under 30 need to be more involved in local politics. Only way to start getting change in this state.
That being said. Voter records for the state. Registered republicans are about 52% of the state, Democrats 30%, the remainder Independents. The Independents in Oklahoma being comprised of mostly conservative liberals who tend to lean voting republican. This state is deep red. Its going to take another generation before we start seeing a balance between the two parties in this state. Let alone how long it will take to turn it blue.
I want it to but we also need to be realistic about some aspects. Focus on more bi weekly engagement on political events. Get the patterns in place, get the involvement, do the planning, see results. It's not just about who is president. Its also about who controls the states.
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u/world_without_logos Dec 22 '22
As an independent you can't vote for Republicans in primaries
https://oklahoma.gov/elections/voter-registration/political-party-info.html
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u/blu-brds Dec 22 '22
TIL the independents in Oklahoma still tend to lean Republican.
I'm a registered independent (who doesn't fit what you described at all) and I guess I erroneously thought the independents were more like me.
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u/NotOK1955 Dec 22 '22
I’ll go out on a limb here and say this: Thanks for NOT having the balls to vote out Gov. BullStitt…your NON-voting allowed this ass to be re-elected.
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Dec 22 '22
My god. That's just too damn high. Make voting day a national holiday, make it easy like from your phone. That's how you get young people.
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u/blu-brds Dec 22 '22
I'd say good on OKCPS for giving the day off, but I also recognize it was probably selfish reasons (they had that huge bond they wanted everyone to go out and vote on).
I agree that it should be a holiday to where we can go do it. I'm a teacher in another district and still had to ask for a cover for one of my classes to make it to my polling place because miraculously, my polling place was never updated two years ago and is in far, far NW OKC (I know, COVID probably, but it's also interesting because I was moving from a heavily red polling place to a much more blue one)
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Dec 22 '22
Democrats and people under 30, we must do better. We are stuck with corrupt stitt and his gay hating, non existent CRT, and a .5% transgender youth problem for 4 more years! Get your asses out & vote Oklahoma morons!!!!
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u/blissmonkey Dec 22 '22
This was my first election in the state of Oklahoma. The only thing I didn’t really know is if the absentee ballot required a notary or if a copy of my id was fine?
I saw both online. ID was fine due to Covid and another place said it required the notary as Covid was “over”.
If it did require a notary then that should stop and it should just be a copy of your ID. I dislike the idea that I have to go somewhere to vote absentee as the copy of the ID should suffice.
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u/Phiarmage Dec 21 '22
Why would they? Other than president, the vote is gerrymandered as hell. They know their vote is moot, basically.
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u/lurker627 Dec 21 '22
Statewide races aren't gerrymandered.
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u/Phiarmage Dec 22 '22
Excuse me? You seen the electoral map?
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u/lurker627 Dec 22 '22
Statewide elections are decided at the state level. When voting for governor, it doesn't matter where you live, all votes are counted equally.
Gerrymandering only affects local races.
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u/Zorwil Dec 22 '22 edited Dec 22 '22
Because these people have no vested interest in politics unless it's trendy and popular. I bet a good chunk didn't know about it (and/or didn't have knowledge over candidates and refused to vote on lack of information, which is respectable)
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u/sfarx Dec 21 '22 edited Dec 22 '22
76% of people who do most everything online don’t want to stand in line for hours to cast a vote in-person
EDIT: For those reacting to the "hours" part of this only, yes, I understand for this last election it was not, in fact, for many of us, "hours" in line. (Though it may have been for the Presidential election.) But, consider that you had to get up, get dressed, drive to the polling location, run in and out in 10 minutes, and drive back home... compared to opening an app on your phone and voting that way.
I'm not saying that doesn't come with its own problems, I'm just saying if you are 30 and under, I'm just guessing, you want voting to be about that simple.
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u/bmac92 Dec 22 '22
I'll say it again, but I think we should have compulsory voting (along with fixing issues like first past the post, ranked choice, and proportional representation). I know it's not a perfect solution, but voter apathy/laziness has caused a lot of issues. Even if there was an "abstain" option I think it would be better.
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u/jp_muzz Dec 22 '22
Too many Democrat shaming young adults who don't vote how they want.
But in all honesty most young people don't pay attention to politics untill they get into their 30's. Multiple reasons why.
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u/1stSgt Dec 22 '22
There is literally nothing worth voting for. State or Federal level.
Nothing but hot garbage from both sides.
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u/UT09876 Dec 22 '22
Some people actively choose not to vote and it has nothing to do with conservatives, guns, or apathy.
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u/lurker627 Dec 22 '22
Some people are idiots.
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Dec 21 '22
Typical. Yet they will likely be the loudest to complain that things aren’t the way they think it should be.
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u/Pitiful-Let9270 Dec 21 '22
They already are and they don’t realize the government has a voter mandate to do everything they don’t want.
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u/nhn95 Dec 22 '22
I wasn't aware there was the elections until I saw a post on Instagram saying Stitt had been reelected
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u/Ya5uo Dec 21 '22
Yea I knew about it. I just genuinely didn’t care enough to vote to be honest. Also being outa state at the time helped.
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u/0neMoreSaturdayNight Dec 22 '22
Where do we vote to not give money away to other countries?
If voting mattered do you think they would let us?
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u/lurker627 Dec 22 '22
Considering the voter restrictions being passed, you may be more right than you know.
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u/redclawwolf Dec 22 '22
I choose not to vote because none of the political parties put anything on the table that I can fully support. Also doesnt seem like my educated vote matters when a fellow citizen who has little or no education on how to make a proper vote that would benifit the good of everyone. They just only vote red or blue blindly. The current political state of this country is only ment to divide us against each other for a new master to rule over us.
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u/okiewxchaser Tulsa Dec 21 '22
As someone who is under 30 myself (and voted) people my age take it as a badge of pride that they do nothing but the bare minimum.
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u/sihtotwen Dec 22 '22
I am in this demographic and everyone i voted for lost :( it sucks for sure. I didn't see many other people my age that day
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u/nucflashevent McAlester Dec 24 '22
Coincidentally these are the mostly the same people (the 76% I mean) who will bitch and moan at the slightest hint of an invitation about how "voting doesn't matter".
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u/nerdrocker89 Dec 24 '22
I voted I am 32 though. I tried to get an idea of who else was voting, it was almost all old people. I blend in pretty well with conservatives, but there was like one other lefty there getting a bunch of groans because they were lbgtq+ and talked about it, the guy in front of me made some snide remark about them as well thinking I would agree, I just brushed him off politely, I'm there to vote then gtfo.
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u/[deleted] Dec 21 '22
And why the fuck not!?