How Oklahoma’s Primary Election System Works

Oklahoma uses a semi-closed primary system. Registered Republicans may vote only in Republican primaries, while registered Democrats may vote only in Democratic primaries unless a party chooses to allow independents to participate. Voters registered with other political parties cannot vote in another party’s primary.

Independent voters may be permitted to vote in a party’s primary if that party authorizes it for a given election cycle. Oklahoma’s primaries are used to select each party’s nominees for offices such as U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, statewide offices, and state and local positions.

Oklahoma requires a candidate to receive a majority of the vote (more than 50%) to win a party nomination outright. If no candidate receives a majority in a primary election, the top two candidates advance to a primary runoff election. The winner of the runoff becomes the party’s nominee for the general election.