Map: voter affiliation changes in March

When I asked the state election board for information on Libertarian Party registration (see my post this morning), I also asked to if they tracked how many voters switched from one party to another. They were kind enough to send me that as well, so I put that data into the graphic below:

(click image to view larger)

This was interesting to see, so in the future I'll probably try to get data that covers an entire year.

Things to note:

• Contrary to popular belief, far more Independents switched to Republican than Republicans switched to Independent
• Relatively few Republicans switched parties (2,342 Republicans compared to 8,882 Democrats and 4,939 Independents)
• Former Republicans comprise about 48.25% (314) of all registered Libertarians (651 total)
• One voter made at least two registration changes during the last 8 days of March: something/unregistered to Libertarian to Republican. Talk about busy!
• One voter switched from Americans Elect to the GOP (AE is a recognized "political organization" as opposed to a "political party"; why there's a distinction beats me. 12 Oklahomans are registered under Americans Elect, with 5 of them here in Muskogee County).

History made: Republicans surpass Democrats in registration

BREAKING: Republicans surpass Democrats in voter registration - first time in state history

Andrew W. Griffin | November 20, 2014

OKLAHOMA CITY  - For the first time in Oklahoma history, registered Republican voters outnumber registered Democrat voters, on a report released today by the Oklahoma State Election Board.

As of Thursday morning, there were 884,136 registered Republicans and 883,876 registered Democrats. Also included were 258,651 independent voters and eight Americans Elect voters.

Political junkies have been predicting that sometime during the fall of 2014 that the flip would occur.

For the county-by-county breakdown, go here.

Note: Back in January 2013, I correctly guessed the OKGOP would pass the ODP in 2014.

UPDATE: Gary Johnson will won't be on ballot in Oklahoma

Sooner State knocks Libertarian hopeful off ballot

By Patrick B. McGuigan | CapitolBeatOK

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Election Board removed the Americans Elect party from the November presidential election ballot Wednesday, effectively knocking out Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson.

The decision was made based on the advice of the state Attorney General’s Office.

Earlier this summer, the state Americans Elect party had designated a slate of presidential electors and named Johnson as its candidate, even as the national party’s directors spiked the group’s nationwide drive to provide an alternative to the two major parties.

Secretary of the State Election Board Paul Ziriax said in a statement sent Wednesday morning to CapitolBeatOK:

“You have previously asked me about the conflicting instructions the State Election Board received from the Directors of the Americans Elect party and a local group claiming to on act on behalf of the Americans Elect party. (The Board of Directors of the party instructs that the Americans Elect party will not field any candidates for President or Vice President, while the local group instructs that the party has chosen candidates for President and Vice President – the same candidates chosen by the Libertarian Party in other states.)”

Ziriax said Assistant Attorney General Neal Leader advised the Election Board that it “should not place the Americans Elect Party president and vice-presidential candidates or presidential electors on the November 2012 general election ballot in Oklahoma.”

Ziriax told CapitolBeatOK, “Our staff will proceed with our general election ballot preparations accordingly.”

In his 20-page analysis of the legal questions involved, Leader said the national group retained control of the party’s ballot line, and the national directors’ decision held in the state.

Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, said Leader’s written opinion “contains no references to any court cases to justify his opinion.”

Winger contends the Election Board and Leader “have acted in a deceitful manner.”

Americans Elect gained ballot status in March after a successful petition campaign that enjoyed the support of David Boren, now president of the University of Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma effort began with fanfare in January, achieving success in March, after a Libertarian-organized drive fell short of the required signatures. Oklahoma is widely considered one of the most difficult states for ballot access.

Just weeks ago, local activists submitted electors to state officials, in support of Johnson, but on a parallel track the national Americans Elect party informed the Election Board it was abandoning its drive “in all states in which Americans Elect has obtained a ballot access line” with the “unanimous written consent” of the national group’s directors.

Contact Patrick McGuigan at patrick@capitolbeatok.com.

Exclusive: Conflict and Confusion - Will Gary Johnson be on Oklahoma's ballot?

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, erstwhile GOP-candidate-turned-Libertarian-Party-nominee, missed out on making the ballot in Oklahoma when the Oklahoma Libertarian Party failed to submit enough validated signatures to receive a ballot access. However, the story may not be over yet for Johnson and his Oklahoma Libertarian Party supporters.

Americans Elect successfully waged a ballot access campaign in Oklahoma earlier this year, with the intention of nominating a presidential candidate through their unconventional online voting process. The venture ultimately failed, as no candidate met their stated criteria, and thus the group did not nominate a candidate, after getting on the ballot in over 30 states.

All political parties had until August 8th to submit their nominees for president and vice-president (technically, they submit electors pledged to their party nominees).

On August 7th, Rex Lawhorn (Oklahoma state chairman of Americans Elect) submitted electors to the State Election Board for ballot certification. These electors were pledged to Gary Johnson for President and James Gray for Vice-President, the Libertarian Party candidates.

Americans Elect - State

But in a letter dated August 6th, the national Americans Elect organization wrote to the State Election Board intending to dissolve their status as a political party in Oklahoma.

Americans Elect - National

I contacted the State Election Board to ask some questions about the situation, and received a response from State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax.

"Attached are PDF scans of conflicting correspondence to the State Election Board from the national Americans Elect organization and an in-state group that says it is the Oklahoma chapter of Americans Elect. This is a very unusual situation, so we are seeking legal advice from our counsel at the Attorney General’s office about how to proceed," Ziriax told me in an email.

When there is an update to this story, I will post it.