BatesLine ballot card for Election 2024
Federal, state, City of Tulsa races, State Questions, judges, and more
Two days into early voting, with two to go, and I’m hearing reports of hour-plus times waiting in line at the Tulsa County Election Board as well as the satellite location at 12000 Skelly Drive. Will we see record turnout?
I’ve been remiss, dear readers, in notifying you of new content on BatesLine.com, but it’s taken all the time I have to get articles posted covering each part of our long general election ballot, along with the traditional ballot card. Remember: This email is a mere shadow; click the links for the substance.
Oklahoma Election 2024: BatesLine ballot card: Summary of all the races with a printable single-page (front and back) version. Click that link if you just want recommendations; the whys and wherefores of my picks are in the articles linked below.
Oklahoma Election 2024: Statewide and legislative races: Bob Anthony’s seat on the Corporation Commission (Anthony is term-limited) and State House and Senate races statewide, with a focus on four hotly contested seats (House 70 and 79, Senate 35 and 39) in Tulsa. In a couple of House seats, Libertarian candidates offer an alternative to a mediocre Republican incumbent.
Tulsa Election 2024 runoff: Republicans have a Hobson’s choice for Mayor of Tulsa. Three City Council seats have gone to a runoff, two involving incumbent councilors.
2024 Oklahoma congressional races: Vote Republican: While I know and like the independent candidate for the 1st Congressional District, there are good reasons to return all of our GOP congressmen to Washington for another term.
Willis for Tulsa County Clerk, Sims for Commission District 2: The two Tulsa County offices on the ballot.
Conservative questions for Tulsa mayoral candidates: Neither candidate bothered to answer, but they’re worth thinking about as you prepare to vote.
NO on Oklahoma SQ 833: Public Infrastructure Districts: The state question that deserves to lose.
YES on Oklahoma SQ 834: Only US citizens may vote: The state question that deserves to win.
2024 Oklahoma judicial retention ballot: Some updates since I first published it, with links to the opinions of other conservatives.
My ballot card article includes a bunch of links to other conservative sources writing about this election.
To share the ballot card verbally with your friends, just say “batesline dot com slash endorsements” — and the ballot card will be at the top of batesline.com through election day.
If you haven’t done so yet, you need to subscribe to former State Rep. Jason Murphey’s Substack, the Oklahoma State Capital. He was one of the few state legislators to refuse any gift from any lobbyist or entity that employs lobbyists. (State Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, the conservative candidate for House Speaker, has followed in his footsteps.) Murphey, who was term-limited in 2018, is also one of the most analytical people ever to sit in the Oklahoma legislature, so what he has to say about the degenerate legislative culture at the State Capitol is essential reading. While any piece older than two months is behind a paywall, new pieces are available with a free subscription, and you can read his very first Substack piece, "These Are Not Serious People," as a guest column at the Oklahoma Constitution website.
If there’s anything I haven’t covered in the articles above, please let me know, and I’ll do my best to address your questions between now and Tuesday.
Happy voting!
Michael D. Bates