Democratic US Senate candidate Madison Horn gets to stay on ballot in Oklahoma

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U.S. Senate candidate Madison Horn will still be on the ballot for the Democratic primary election even though she did not register to vote in Oklahoma until April 12.

The Oklahoma Election Board voted 3-0 early Tuesday to reject a contest of her candidacy.

Horn, 32, of Oklahoma City, thanked the Election Board on Twitter for "denying the disingenuous petition against my candidacy."

"Now it is time for my strong coalition to focus on the enormous task ahead — the fight to defeat James Lankford, who has conformed to extremist views and who is no longer serving the people of Oklahoma," she said in a release.

Lankford, running for his second full term, drew two Republican primary opponents during the three-day filing period this month. Six Democrats, an independent and a Libertarian also filed for the seat.

U.S. Senate candidate Madison Horn, bottom right corner, testifies at a special meeting before the Oklahoma State Election Board.
U.S. Senate candidate Madison Horn, bottom right corner, testifies at a special meeting before the Oklahoma State Election Board.

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The primary election is June 28.

Seeking Horn's disqualification was another Democrat on the ballot, Jason Bollinger.

The Oklahoma City attorney contended public policy requires candidates to be registered for at least six months as a member of the party for which they seek nomination.

Horn "has made it no secret that she recently moved to Oklahoma from Virginia to run for office," Bollinger told the Election Board in his petition.

"Luckily for Oklahomans, the safeguards prescribed by the state legislature prevents individuals from moving into our State and setting up a transitory residence," he wrote. "It is unfathomable to surmise that the legislature — or the people of Oklahoma — would intend otherwise."

Madison Horn arrives to submit her candidate filing at the Oklahoma Capitol on April 14.
Madison Horn arrives to submit her candidate filing at the Oklahoma Capitol on April 14.

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The attorney for the Election Board, however, said the only qualifications for U.S. Senate are that a candidate must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for nine years and an inhabitant of the state at the time of the election.

Those qualifications are laid out in the U.S. Constitution, the attorney told board members.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled on this issue before, reinstating a U.S. House candidate to the ballot in 2004.

The ruling came after U.S. Rep. Tom Cole successfully challenged the candidacy of Charlene K. Bradshaw. He complained she had filed as an independent but was still registered as a Republican.

The Election Board voted on Horn's case at 1:37 a.m. Tuesday at the end of a marathon meeting.

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The board voted on 12 contests overall, striking two House candidates and a judicial candidate from the ballot.

Horn told the Election Board she grew up in Oklahoma and moved back in May to represent her home.

"I felt a call to action," she testified.

She said she had meant to register to vote in Oklahoma in February. She said she couldn't then because she had COVID-19.

She filed to be a U.S. Senate candidate April 14, two days after applying to vote.

Bollinger called the decision disappointing and said the board members were understandably ready to be finished for the day after 16 hours of hearings.

"While we disagree with the Board’s decision, we will move forward in the election process, focused on people and solutions to the many important issues facing Oklahomans and our Nation," he said in a release.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: US Senate candidate Madison Horn allowed to stay on ballot in Oklahoma