Two poll workers unintentionally rattled David Bohlken two decades ago when he walked into a petite country church near Tulsa to vote for his first time as an Oklahoman.
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David Bohlken, a registered independent, tried to vote in a primary election at the First Baptist Church in Leonard, Oklahoma, and was turned away. He is seen Jan. 17, 2024.
Mike Simons, Tulsa World
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The 2024 election season has officially begun and voters are heading out to the polls and casting their votes for who they think deserves the party's nomination in primary elections. But in states with closed primaries, voters find themselves not being able to vote for the candidate they want, or be excluded from voting entirely.
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Oklahoma Sen. Nathan Dahm, chair of the Oklahoma GOP, opposes open primaries because political parties are private organizations that should be able to decide who participates in their affairs.
Mike Simmons, Tulsa World
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Oklahoma’s semi-closed primary system shuts out hundreds of thousands of voters each election cycle, suppressing voter turnout and catering to the political fringe in terms of election issues.
Stephen Pingry, Tulsa World
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Karen Ruiz fills out her ballot in the Wisconsin partisan primary election during a visit with her son to her polling place at Steamfitters Local 601 in Madison, Wisconsin, in August 2022.
John Hart, Wisconsin State Journal file
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Some Democratic and independent voters in Wyoming crossed over to the Republican primary in 2022 to try to save former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney from her GOP challenger. They were unsuccessful.
Laruen Miller, Casper Star Tribune file photo
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Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, pictured in January 2024, a Republican, is now one of the faces of a grassroots movement to open up the Sooner state’s primaries.
Stephen Pingry, Tulsa World
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Voters stand 6 feet apart to vote in Missouri's primary elections in 2022 at Highcroft Ridge Elementary School in Chesterfield.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
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