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INTERACTIVE BALLOT CANDIDATE SUMMARIES
T U E S D A Y , N O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 14
ELECTION DAY WHO’S ON THE BALLOT? A FEW KEY CANDIDATES
FOR GOVERNOR
Students invited to watch party Campus organizations collaborate to provide free snacks, inflatable screen
JOE DORMAN DEMOCRAT
• Currently serving in the Oklahoma House of Representatives • Plans to improve loan forgiveness legislation for aerospace engineering students • Wants to increase state spending on higher education
MARY FALLIN REPUBLICAN
• Currently serving as Oklahoma governor • Has supported programs like Complete College America, which focuses on helping students with a few credit hours left who didn’t finish college complete degrees • Aims to increase number of college graduates from 30,000 in 2011 to 50,000 in the next decade
FOR UNITED STATES SENATOR (UNEXPIRED TERM) CONNIE JOHNSON DEMOCRAT
• Believes in loan forgiveness for students working in public education fields and those who commit to loan repayments • Supports reform on drug laws • Wants to increase minimum wage and close the wage gap between men and women • Previously held a position as state senator for Oklahoma’s 48th Senate District.
JAMES LANKFORD REPUBLICAN
• Believes the U.S. should continue to produce and sell natural gas responsibly • Supports the repeal of the Affordable Care Act • Wants to reduce restrictions on small businesses • Previously held a position in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Oklahoma’s 5th congressional district.
Election Night Watch Parties On-campus student watch party
JUSTINE ALEXANDER
When: 6:30 p.m. today Where: Cate Main
News Reporter @caffeineJustine
Oklahoma Governor Watch Parties
Editor’s Note: Molly Evans previously worked for The Daily as assistant continuous news editor and in various reporter positions. After casting their ballots, students can watch the election results as they come in with free food and company at the Election Night Watch Party. The party, held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Cate Main, will start just before the polls close at 7 p.m., said Madison Hobson, public affairs and administration senior. OU Housing and Food will provide chips, salsa, cookies, punch and other snacks, and the Carl Albert Center and Department of Political Science will provide pizza, Hobson said. Student Government Association, Carl Albert Center Civic Engagement Fellows, the Graduate Assistants of Political Science, Adams Center and Society of Professional Journalists are all working together to hold the event, Hobson said. “We all have the same goal to include students,” Hobson said. Students will be able to watch results on a giant inflatable screen, said Alyssa Rice, SGA’s external affairs chair. The Society of Professional Journalists is participating in the event because it seemed like the most fitting for their monthly meeting, said Molly Evans, president of the organization. “If you’re a journalist for a general newspaper or online news publication, you’re usually covering the elections,” she said, “But for journalism students, a watch party can still at least show them how they are covered, particularly in the broadcast medium.” Allen Hertzke, political science professor, and Lawrence Baines, associate dean for graduate studies and research,
Joe Dorman & Oklahoma Democratic Party When: Doors open at 6:30 p.m. today Where: Cox Convention Center, Great Hall B in Oklahoma City Oklahoma GOP — with Mary Fallin, Jim Inhofe and James Lankford When: Doors open at 6 p.m. today Where: Tower Hotel, 3233 NW Expressway, Oklahoma City will speak at the event, Hobson said. Hertzke will provide insight into politics while Baines will discuss how politics specifically affect education, Hobson said. Other members of the political science department, such as graduate teaching assistant Sondra Petty, will attend the event as well. Petty’s main role is to motivate and inform political science students about the event, she said. She also gets a lot of ideas she can incorporate into her American Federal Government lectures from watching students participate, Petty said. A Facebook page called OU Votes has been set up to share information about the voting process, and a booth will be set up on the South Oval for sharing information Tuesday, Hobson said. “Even if you’re not from Oklahoma, the politics here affect you,” Hobson said.
VOTING TRENDS
Oklahoma registered Republican rate rises
For a full break down of the ballot by candidate, visit OUDaily.com.
Young voters not showing up locally
Gap between registered voters in main parties getting smaller
OKLAHOMA VOTER REGISTRATION BY PARTY
Only small percentage of Cleveland County voters in 18 to 24 age group MIKE BRESTOVANSKY Assistant News Editor @BrestovanskyM
Editor’s Note: The data in this article is taken from a beta version of the Oklahoma State Election Board’s voter information request system. As such, there is a slight margin for error in the numbers provided. Millenials account for less than 10 percent of Cleveland County’s registered voters this year, according to data from the Oklahoma State Election Board. Only 11,829 people in the age range of 18 to 24 are registered to vote in Cleveland County, making up only 8 percent of the county’s almost 145,000 registered voters, according to the election board’s voter information request system. SEE VOTERS PAGE 2
cleveland county Registered voter percentage by age group 18 to 24 age group
65+ age group 20.1%
8.2%
37.4% 34.2%
45 to 64 age group WEATHER Rainy today with a high of 52, low of 45. Follow @AndrewGortonWX on Twitter for weather updates.
Justine Alexander justine.l.alexander-1@ou.edu
25 to 44 age group
News Reporter @jesserpound
While voter registration has decreased in Oklahoma since 2000, voters who are registering are choosing to register as Republicans at a faster rate than Democrats. Historically, the percentage of Oklahoma voters registered as Democrats has been much higher than the number of Oklahomans registered as Republicans. In 1960, 82 percent of the 1,019,759 registered voters were Democrats. From 1960 to 2014, the gap between the two parties has gotten increasingly smaller, according to election board statistics. Despite Republicans having only 1,283 more registered voters than Democrats in Oklahoma County in 2010, Mary Fallin won Oklahoma County by a margin of over 29,000 votes, according to statistics from the Oklahoma Election Board. These differences held true in the 2012 presidential election year as well, with both Mitt Romney and Senator Tom Cole winning by comfortable margins in Cleveland County, despite more registered Democrats in Oklahoma, according to statistics from the Oklahoma Election Board. The drop in total voter registration happened as Oklahoma’s population grows. The state had 3,450,654 residents in 2000 and had an estimated 3,850,568 residents in 2013, according to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. Jesse Pound jesserpound@gmail.com
ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHELSEA BONNETT/THE DAILY
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