Oklahoma held its primary election this week, and the results were just as disappointing as I’d expected.
Turnout was about 26%. That’s just gross, especially for a state where so many people complain about so much.
The biggest thing for me (and the only thing I could vote on as a registered Libertarian) was State Question 832, regarding the minimum wage. It sits at $7.25 an hour, where it’s been since 2009. Had it kept track with inflation, it’d be $11.21 an hour, but the state legislature hasn’t seen fit to address the minimum wage since then.
I’m on the fence about the general idea of a minimum wage. I’m not sure The State should be forcing businesses to pay people a certain wage. But if there’s going to be a minimum wage, it needs to keep up with inflation.
SQ 832 would have raised it to $9 immediately, then by $1.50 an hour until 2029 when it would hit $15. From there, it would have automatically followed the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
The new legislation also would have changed who was subject to the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act, ending several exemptions.
Opponents of the Question spent something close to $4 million on ads and social media, claiming that such a change would damage the state’s economy.
The Question failed, 55.4% to 44.6%. The low turnout didn’t help, nor did the question’s placement on the summer primary ballot. I think it would have had a better shot on the November ballot, where the state will be choosing a new governor.
Frustration
There’s a part of me that will never understand why people don’t vote.
At one level, I get it. There’s a feeling that no matter how one casts their vote, nothing will ever change. And I understand that. I’ve felt that same frustration over the last decades, especially as a Libertarian. (Then again, the LP often shoots itself in the foot with the candidates we select.)
But on the other hand, how can you change things if you’re not voting?
Only about 31% of GOP voters and 28% of Democratic voters bother to cast ballots. The Democrats easily selected their gubernatorial candidate, but the GOP voters couldn’t come to a consensus. None of the nine candidates garnered a majority (greater than 50%) of the votes, so there will be a runoff primary election in August.
(And this is where I gripe about having runoff elections when we could instead be using ranked choice voting, AKA instant runoff.)
Oklahoma has this weird system where they can have an election every month. I don’t like it. Ohio has two election days, in spring (generally May) and in November. Jurisdictions can hold special elections on other days, but those weren’t common when I lived there. I honestly think Oklahoma voters have a sort of election fatigue because there are so many votes.
I also get frustrated in general over the idea of closed primaries. If a private organization wants to restrict voting when they select their candidate for a public office, then let them use their own equipment and pay for it themselves. If they’re going to use public equipment and facilities, make the vote open to all registered voters.
It’ll never happen that way, but I can dream, can’t I?
Movie Night
Diana and I watched Project Hail Mary Saturday night and enjoyed it. I like Andy Weir’s stuff in general, but I haven’t read this book yet. Pretty sure I’m going to pick it up after watching the movie. Maybe I’ll pick it up Monday. I got a store credit for helping Bear’s Bookstore with their recent move…
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