L etter to the editor
Please show up on August 25 (early voting August 20-22) and vote “NO” on State Questions 844 and 846. These State Questions have been placed on the ballot in a run-off election where a very low voter turn-out is expected.
SQ 846 proposes to ‘sneak in’ a change to our Oklahoma voting system in order to fix a problem that does not exist. Worst of all, it would allow our legislature a wide-open opportunity to put voter restrictions in place.
Politicians in OKC are trying to pull a ‘fast one’ in an election where turn-out will be sparse. They think no one will pay attention.
Here’ssomebackgroundonwhat SQ 846 could mean: At a national level, the so-called “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility” Act that would restrict voting has stalled. This harmful legislation would bring voter suppression, particularlyformarriedwomenwho took their husbands’ surname, for people who don't need or cannot afford a passport and for people who've lost their birth certificate.
Additionally, the national government is trying to access the voting rolls of all states. Most states refused. Why? Because voting is controlled by each individual state, and the system works.
Yet, Oklahoma is one of 16 states that rolled over and gave our state’s full voter rolls to the Federal Justice Department, along with other related personal data. These are steps toward ceding control of our elections to the national government.
SQ 846 is written in a misleading way. It states that it wants to make it an Oklahoma state constitutional requirement that voters provide proof of identity.
We already do this, by law and it works just fine. The quiet, shady part of SQ 846 is that it allows the legislature to decide what forms of identification will be needed.
That is a potentially harmful loophole, and it opens a back door to sneak in voter restrictions. If we approve the seemingly innocuous SQ 846, many of us may show up to vote in the near future and get turned away, because our voter identification requirements have become much more restrictive and complex than they need to be.
SQ 844 also needs to be rejected. This measure gives lawmakers the power to decide how much money local communities get back, when revenues are lost because of tax exemptions and giveaways to, for instance, Data Centers moving into Oklahoma.
Remember, these questions are included in a low-turnout election for a reason. Also, if you vote Independent, your only ballot on August 25 will be these two state questions. However, it is important enough for a trip to the polls to vote NO and help defeat these proposed changes.
George Novak Soper Ok.