By an overwhelming margin, members of the Oklahoma Senate have voted to move school-board elections to a November general election ballot, seeking to dramatically increase participation in those races.

“I’m running this bill for the taxpayers,” said state Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore. “I want increased voter participation because they are the ones that pay. So why are we having elections at a time when they aren’t paying attention? The question shouldn’t be, ‘Why are we moving these school board elections?’ Why were they put there to begin with is my question.”

Senate Bill 6, by Seifried, would move school board elections so they align with the general election in November.

Currently, school-board elections are held on obscure spring dates with little publicity or voter awareness. As a result, Seifried noted that turnout for school-board elections is currently “alarmingly low.”

Research done by Americans for Prosperity found that turnout for the April 2, 2024, school-board elections in Oklahoma averaged 6 percent of voters. Only one school district in Oklahoma had voter turnout exceed 25 percent that day, and some districts reported less than 1-percent turnout.

There are approximately 2,500 school-board members elected across Oklahoma.

“School board decisions shape the future of public education across our state and determine how taxpayer dollars are allocated,” Seifried said. “By moving these elections to a time when more members of the community are engaged in the election process, we can ensure that these races receive the attention they deserve.”

Opponents argued that higher turnout would not necessarily be a good thing.

“I don’t believe that, by moving these nonpartisan races in particular to a November ballot, ensures that folks who might be showing up fervently to cast their ballots in November are going to be mindful of the implications, potentially, of their vote,” said state Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City.

The voters dismissed as potentially not “mindful” of the implications of a school-board race include many parents in Oklahoma.

Research published by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University in January 2020 reviewed data from four states, including Oklahoma. Among other things, researchers found that “the majority of voters in a typical school board election in each of the four states we examine is ‘unlikely’ to have children.”

State Sen. Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, opposed changing the election date, saying Oklahoma “in November has the lowest voter turnout in the nation.”

However, 64 percent of eligible Oklahoma voters participated in the November 2024 general election, a far greater share of voters than the 6 percent who participated in the April 2024 school-board races in Oklahoma.

Mann also argued that fewer people will want to run for school board seats if they must campaign before a larger share of the local electorate.

Under the current, extremely low-turnout school-board election system, Mann said “if I want to run for school board, particularly in rural Oklahoma, I can print a few flyers and go knock doors, and I can probably meet enough voters that I’ve probably got a shot.”

If races are placed on a November ballot, he said candidates will have to spend more money and effort to communicate with the larger number of voters involved.

But state Sen. Mary Boren, D-Oklahoma City, noted that school-board candidates would likely find cost-effective ways to spread their message, such as partnering with other campaigns running at the same time.

“If I have my favorite school-board member and she’s running in November with me, all I have to do is just drop flyers right alongside mine,” Boren said.

She opposed the bill, saying such practices would lead to school-board candidates effectively being identified by partisanship.

Supporters said the bill would increase the visibility of school-board races, which are important.

State Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond, noted one school in her district has a student population of about 7,600. In the most recent February school elections for that district, only 653 voters participated.

“I hear constantly from constituents, ‘Oh my gosh, I had no idea there was an election today,’” Thompson said.

By moving school-board elections to November, Thompson said lawmakers would be “giving people the opportunity to be more informed and more educated—and it takes zero dollars to get out and meet your neighbors.”

Senate Bill 6 passed the Oklahoma Senate on a 33-10 vote. The bill now proceeds to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, where lawmakers have advanced a similar bill from committee.