May 13—Oklahoma is poised to add an extra day of in-person early voting ahead of general elections every two years.

After some Oklahomans waited hours to cast early ballots for the 2020 presidential election, a new state law will add a fourth day of early voting ahead of Oklahoma’s general elections for governor and president.

The change comes as Republicans in Georgia, Texas, Arizona and Florida have sought to implement stricter voting rules in the wake of false allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

“I bet that we’ll be the only Republican state that expanded voting rights,” House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols said in an interview.

Bucking the trend in red states, Kentucky’s Democratic governor earlier this year signed bipartisan legislation to expand voter access that passed the state’s Republican-led Legislature.

Echols, R-Oklahoma City, garnered bipartisan support for House Bill 2663 that Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law Tuesday.

He said he couldn’t comment on election law changes in other states, but praised the integrity of Oklahoma’s election system and said residents can feel secure in state elections and the increased ballot access.

“Oklahoma elections are safe and secure,” Echols said. “I’ve won an election and lost an election and they were both fair.”

HB 2663 allows for early voting, also known as absentee in-person, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. the Wednesday before general elections held in even-numbered years. The state already offers early voting on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday prior to an election.

The bill also adds an hour of early voting on Saturdays before all federal and state elections, which includes primary and runoff elections.

“We had, in my district, three and a half hour lines on Election Day to vote in the presidential election,” Echols said. “In a developing country, we should all be humiliated that we have that.”

Even with the change, Oklahoma will lag behind the average timeframe for early voting, which is 19 days, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

HB 2663 also alters the timeframe for Oklahomans to request absentee ballots following a warning from the U.S. Postal Service that Oklahoma’s mail-in ballot deadline may not allow enough time for delivery to county election boards.

Following a recommendation from the Postal Service, Oklahoma’s new absentee ballot request deadline will be 15 days prior to an election. The state’s current request deadline is seven days prior to an election.

With 167,185 votes cast, Oklahomans set a record for in-person early voting during the 2020 general election.

HB 2663 takes effect Jan. 1, 2022.