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As conservatives focus on local school boards, Oklahoma lawmakers discuss moving elections

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As conservatives focus on local school boards, Oklahoma lawmakers discuss moving elections


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The deputy state director for the conservative political lobbying group Americans for Prosperity argued Tuesday for Oklahoma to move local school board elections to align with the election calendar for federal and state offices.

Bradley Ward, who once worked for the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency at the state Capitol, was the only presenter during a 30-minute-long interim study conducted by the House Election and Ethics Committee and led by Rep. Chris Banning, R-Bixby.

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Banning is a proponent of changing the dates of school board elections, saying doing so will increase voter turnout and save taxpayer money now being spent conducting separate elections. During the just-completed legislative session, multiple conservative groups, including AFP, put a focus on local elections such as school board races.

Critics of the idea say moving the elections could have the effect of injecting partisan politics into what are nonpartisan races.

Oklahoma law now mandates school board elections to be held in February (for primaries) and April (for the general election). Low turnout can be an issue, as evidenced by election results from April.

More: When does early voting start in Oklahoma? Key dates for 2024 presidential election

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Among the examples cited by Ward on Tuesday was a race for a seat on the board of Oklahoma City Public Schools, the state’s second-largest district, with about 33,000 students. In that race, 350 people cast ballots, with Jessica Cifuentes beating incumbent Cary Pirrong 233-117. A race for a seat on the Mid-Del Schools board drew 681 of a possible 16,679 voters, or 4%.

“Electing a school board member with just 2% of voter turnout is not conducive to the needs of one of the state’s largest school districts, as it undermines democratic representation and fails to capture the diverse perspectives of the community that the board ultimately serves,” Ward said.

Ward, citing Oklahoma State Election Board data, said about 6% of voters turned out for school board elections in April, compared to 11% in municipal elections in August, 17% in the presidential primary in March and 69% in the 2020 presidential general election.

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Ward said Oklahoma is one of 12 states to have mandated non-November school board elections. Thirteen other states mandate such elections in November of even-numbered years, which would align with election for federal elections. Among those are Michigan, which he used as an example during his presentation. Sixteen states mandate elections in November of odd-numbered years.

Using data from the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System, Ward said Oklahoma school districts spent about $16.9 million on board elections this year, money he said could be reallocated toward other education purposes if board elections are moved. That is assuming the state election board would assume the costs of having a local election item on the same ballot. A spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Election Board didn’t immediately return a call seeking clarity on that question.

Two bills aiming to move Oklahoma school board election dates – one filed by Banning, the other by state Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore – didn’t make it through the legislative process this year. Banning indicated he plans to file a similar bill for the 2025 session of the state Legislature.

Banning said his measure would have two nonpartisan goals: “It has no other meaning other than to increase voter turnout and save the schools millions, and we’ll also have an accurate representation of the community when those school board members are voted in.”

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Democrat on committee says push to move elections is about GOP ‘retaining power’

The lone Democrat at the meeting table Tuesday was Rep. Mickey Dollens, R-Oklahoma City. He told The Oklahoman afterward he understood Banning’s desire to save money on conducting elections, “but I think it’s more focused on retaining power, otherwise (they) would also advocate for municipal elections to be put on the general election ballot as well.”

Dollens said he likes the current system because partisan politics usually don’t come into play, given that school board elections are “hyper-localized.”

“In this current political environment, we’re already so polarized and divisive. It’s nice to have our municipal elections be separate,” he said.

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He suggested better civic education in schools – and perhaps a public messaging campaign on the importance of local elections – might be a solution to the issue of low turnout.

“Each district has its own nuances and its own special needs,” Dollens said. “For highly informed voters, or anyone for that matter, to research the candidates without having all of the other noise around a general election, I feel is a good thing.“



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Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma

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Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma


Elite Delta Force captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

It happened in the Caracas, the capitol of Venezuela.

Social media posts how strikes ordered by President Trump into Venezuela and its military bases.

News 9 political analyst Scott Mitchell said the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America has not always been smooth and adds so many dominos will fall as a result.

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“Venezuela is the beachhead for our adversaries that’s Cuba and Russia and China and Iran and it looks as if this latest situation where that they were assembling Iran swift attack boats that was sort of the last straw,” said Mitchell.

Retired war correspondent Mike Boettcher said the planning on capturing Maduro began in mid-December.

He adds Venezuela is a massive oil supplier whose oil has been taken off the market for years because of sanctions.

He has concerns about what comes next.

“That disrupts a lot of things.It even has an effect on the war in Ukraine, as Russia, you know, has used higher oil revenue because Venezuela’s oil was off the market.Oil prices went up.It helps fund the war in Ukraine,” said Boettcher.

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The ramifications could even reach Oklahoma.

“China gets a 30 percent discount on the oil.If Venezuela goes for a more legitimate government and the sanctions are lifting, then they’re flooding the oil markets and that means bad news for the Oklahoma economy,” added Mitchell.

Following the capture of Maduro, President Trump said the U.S. will take control of the oil reserves in Venezuela.

Sources also say there are plans from the current administration to recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars in their oil industry.

A verified video shows the current state of Venezuela after the military operation.

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Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal

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Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal


Oklahoma State EDGE Kyran Duhon plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Duhon was a member of the 2024 recruiting class.

Duhon spent one year at Oklahoma State, logged 16 total tackles (eight solo) across nine games. He began his career at UTEP, where he had a productive true freshman season, Duhon finished 2024 with 43 total tackles, including seven sacks and two PBUs.

At UTEP, his one season there resulted in second team All-Conference USA honors. He was also named to the On3 True Freshman All-America Team as well as the the Conference USA All-Freshman team.

However, Duhon’s stay in Stillwater didn’t go as expected. Oklahoma State finished the season with a 1-11 record, which included the Cowboys firing longtime head coach Mike Gundy after a 1-2 start. Doug Meacham was named interim head coach but ended the year 0-9.

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Eric Morris has since been named as the program’s next head coach. He comes from North Texas, which finished with an 11-2 record and a trip to the American Conference championship game this past season. However, it doesn’t appear that Duhon will be sticking around during the changing of the guard at Oklahoma State this offseason.

Before college, Duhon was the No. 1,706 overall player in the class, and was recruited as the the No. 165 linebacker during the cycle, per the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was ranked as the No. 242 overall player out of Texas.

Once the NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, players can officially enter their names in the NCAA transfer portal and go on to initiate contact with their preferred schools. The portal will be open for 15 days and close on Jan. 16.

Notably, players who are on teams competing in the national championship game are allowed five extra days to make their portal decision. The College Football Playoff championship game will be played on Jan. 19, so the players on those teams will be allowed until Jan. 24 to enter the portal and choose their next school.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

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Oklahoma man doing target practice in back yard charged in fatal shooting of neighbor

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Oklahoma man doing target practice in back yard charged in fatal shooting of neighbor


A man in Oklahoma is facing a manslaughter charge after he allegedly shot a woman several blocks from his home while firing a gun he got himself for Christmas at an energy drink can in his back yard.

As told in court documents reviewed by NBC News, the death of Sandra Phelps at the hands of Cody Wayne Adams illustrates how deadly the consequences can be when those engaging in the US’s prevalent gun culture do so unsafely. Adams’s back yard was not equipped to stop bullets from leaving the property and striking unsuspecting people in the surrounding area, according to authorities.

Phelps was sitting under a covered porch with family on Christmas and holding a child in her arms when they heard gunshots north of the house, said an affidavit laying out the circumstances of Adams’s arrest.

“Sandra commented that someone got a new gun for Christmas and then shortly after Sandra said ‘ouch’ and collapsed,” the affidavit said. It said there were no more gunshots after that.

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Emergency personnel were dispatched to Phelps’s address at about 3.15pm Thursday, the Stephens county sheriff’s office said in a statement.

“We later received a call stating an individual had just received a gun for Christmas and was target practicing in his backyard and that they believed it would be pointing in the direction of the scene,” the sheriff’s office statement added.

“Investigators went to the reported address and spoke with an individual [who] confirmed he was shooting a target in his back yard and that he had heard that someone has died from a gunshot wound a couple of roads over.”

That individual was Adams, 33, who showed deputies a Red Bull can in his back yard that he had been shooting with his handgun, according to the affidavit justifying his arrest.

Authorities allegedly concluded that the vantage point from where Adams was shooting aligned with the angle of the bullet that killed Phelps. They also determined the home lacked a suitable shooting backstop meant to protect those in the surrounding area from being struck by stray bullets.

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“Adams became visibly upset and began to cry” when he learned of Phelps, the affidavit added. He was arrested on a count of first-degree manslaughter and later released on a $100,000 bond.

In the US, unintentional deaths from firearms are a small percentage of gun deaths in the country. But they occur four times more often in the US than in comparable countries – and most involve a handgun.



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