Oklahoma’s Recognized Political Parties Keep Primaries Closed

(Oklahoma City) – State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax announced today that no political party filed a notice to allow Independents to vote in its primaries and runoff primaries during the 2026-2027 election years. Since no political party provided a notification to the State Election Board Secretary by the statutory deadline, all primaries will remain closed for the 2026-2027 election years. Oklahoma has three recognized political parties: Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican.

Oklahoma is a modified closed primary state. In order to participate in a party’s primary or runoff primary, you must be a registered voter of that party; however, there is an exception. In every odd-numbered year between November 1 and November 30, state law allows all recognized political parties in Oklahoma the opportunity to open their primaries and runoff primaries to Independents during the next two election years by notifying the Secretary of the State Election Board. If a party chooses to open its primaries, the deadline is extended to December 15 for the other recognized parties to respond or change their response. If no notice is provided, a party’s primary remains closed under state law.

Voters who would like to change their party affiliation should do so before April 1, 2026. State law prohibits party affiliation changes April 1 through August 31 of even-numbered years. Party affiliation changes submitted during the closed period will be processed on September 1, 2026.

More information about political parties is available on the State Election Board website.

URL Guide: Political parties: https://oklahoma.gov/elections/voter-registration/political-party-info.html