Election reform brings focus to school boards

Feb. 14—Changing the date of public school board elections and terms of office are the impetus for House Bill 3563, one of several election reform bills now being considered by the Oklahoma Legislature.

Chris Banning, a Republican House member from Bixby, is the author of this piece of election year reform legislation. Other lawmakers are tackling voter photo identification, rank choice voting, use of special elections, funding for election administration, and an Elections Reform Act and Voting Modernization Act.

"The goal here is to consolidate elections to save taxpayers' money and increase voter turnout," Banning said.

His comments were included in a House Communications and Public Affairs news release.

HB 3563 would place school board members on the same cycle as House and Senate elections. It would also move three-year terms to two-year terms and five-year terms to four-year terms.

When asked about the impact of such changes, one public school official said the move could weaken local control of school boards. And concerns have been raised that aligning school board elections with larger, more competitive state and national races could result in an influx of special interest funding in school districts and politicizing these traditionally nonpartisan public service seats.

Banning said that while other legislation similar to HB 3563 has been proposed over the past decade, his bill differs from others because of its simplified structure.

The most recent school board election in Rogers County occurred Tuesday, when voters in the Chelsea School District held a primary election, and Justus-Tiawah voters decided a school bond issue.

County Election Board statistics show Rogers County voter turnout is historically low in local school board elections. Five school districts held elections in 2023, and out of 34,913 registered voters in those districts, only 2,643 cast ballots, or 7.5% of registered voters.

"As a parent of four children in public education, I realize the importance of community involvement in our public school board elections," Banning said. "House Bill 3563 would streamline the electoral process, making it easier for parents and communities to influence policies that directly impact their children's education."

If signed into law, the bill would become effective Nov. 1, just prior to the General Election.

Four Rogers County legislators have filed bills in both the House and Senate, addressing election reforms.

Sen. Julie Daniels, who filed Senate Bill 1610, said she is interested in prohibiting "rank choice voting," which allows voters to rank the candidates in order of preference. Five states already ban this form of voting. Alaska and Maine are the only states that use RCV for national elections. A similar bill has been filed on the House side by Rep. Eric Roberts.

Sen. Michael Bergstorm has authored SB 1607, which would prohibit special elections for certain vacancies in county elected offices.

Rep. Mark Lepak has authored two bills — House Bills 3294 and 3681 — that address ethics and rules for elections. HB 3681 would create the Elections Reform Act of 2024; HB 3294 prohibits acceptance of certain funds for election administration.

Rep. Terry O'Donnell's HB 3716 would create the Voting Modernization Act of 2024.

In other school board-related news, Republican State Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters announced in January he would end longstanding relationships with three statewide education organizations, including the Oklahoma State School Board Association. He alleged in his news release that the OSSBA pushes an "anti-parent, woke agenda" and is responsible for failed policies.

The OSSBA has provided training, support and information services to publicly elected school board members in every Oklahoma school district since 1944.