Thursday, February 12, 2015

Oklahoma Presidential Primary Bill Gets the Green Light from Senate Committee

The legislation to move the Oklahoma presidential primary back three weeks in 2016 passed the state Senate Rules Committee by an 8-4 vote on Wednesday, February 11. The vote largely broke along party lines with one Republican joining the three Democrats on the committee in dissent.

SB 233 would shift the Oklahoma presidential primary from the first Tuesday in March to the fourth Tuesday in March. The move may be more about a return to a districted winner-take-all allocation method among Oklahoma Republicans than it is about regional calendar clustering. The Republican Party has traditionally utilized a districted winner-take-all plan, but strayed from that tradition in 2012 to maintain compliance with the new RNC proportionality requirement.

If that is the case, Oklahoma would join Arizona as the only states shifting to later dates on the 2016 presidential primary calendar to retain a winner-take-all allocation method on the Republican side.

The bill now moves to the state Senate floor for consideration.

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UPDATE (3/3/15): Bill passes Senate


Recent Posts:
Texas Presidential Primary Bill Challenging Carve-Out States Does Not Have State Party Support

Mississippi Presidential Primary Bills Pass

Vermont Bill Would Move Presidential Primary to Same Date as New Hampshire's

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