Voters wait in line outside the Oklahoma County Election Board on Oct. 30 to cast a vote in the Nov. 5 election. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)

OKLAHOMA CITY — Over 13,000 Oklahomans have changed their party affiliation this year ahead of the closed June primary elections, according to a state report. 

Since Jan. 1, independent voters comprised the largest shift in party affiliation with more than 6,100 selecting a party, according to data from the State Election Board, which allows them to participate in Oklahoma’s partisan primaries in June and August.

Nearly 2,400 independent voters became registered Republicans while over 3,600 joined the Democratic party, an Election Board report shows.

While no recognized political party in Oklahoma filed paperwork to allow independent voters to participate in their primaries this year, it was not clear if the affiliation changes were higher than normal. The State Election Board said it could not run a report on party affiliation changes during the same period in 2022. 

Records show nearly 3,000 Republican voters changed their party affiliation since Jan. 1. Over 1,700 of these became independent voters and 1,100 switched to the Democrat party. 

Over 3,700 Democrats switched parties, with over 2,300 changing to Republican and nearly 1,400 becoming independents. 

About 100 Libertarians became registered Republicans, 150 switched to the Democratic party and another 150 became independent voters. 

Voters had until March 31 to change their party affiliation ahead of a blackout period stretching from April 1 to Aug. 31.

There are nearly 2.42 million registered voters in Oklahoma. 

About 53% are registered Republicans, 25% are Democrats, over 20% are independent and nearly 1% are Libertarians. 

Primary elections are June 16. The runoff primary is Aug. 25. and the general election is Nov. 3. First-time voters must register by May 22 to participate in the primary elections.

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