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Oklahoman
Oklahoma is poised to add an extra day of in-person early voting ahead of general elections every two years.
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.
There are three full weeks left in the 2021 legislative session in Oklahoma, which has been jam-packed and controversial.But the most important part of the session is not done just yet. Publicly, things have slowed down at the state Capitol, but that s as lawmakers behind the scenes are in budget negotiations to finalize the massive state budget from 2022.A few big points have emerged on that as the clock ticks towards sine die, which is a formal way of saying pencils down. The state constitution requires lawmakers to wrap things up by 5 p.m. May 28. By then, the House of Representatives, the Senate and the governor have to come to an agreement on the budget.In February, Gov. Kevin Stitt proposed an $8.3 billion state budget, with a $300 million deposit to savings – a conservative plan as the state digs itself out of the coronavirus slump.It s all expected to be smoother sailing than last year when the session was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stitt vetoed the budget, an