Oklahoma is a constitutional republic with a government modeled after the federal government of the United States, with executive, legislative, and judicial branches.^[288] The state has 77 counties with jurisdiction over most local government functions within each respective domain,^[66] five congressional districts, and a voting base with a majority in the Republican Party.^[289] State officials are elected by plurality voting in the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma has capital punishment as a legal sentence, and the state has had (between 1976 through mid-2011) the highest per capita execution rate in the nation.^[290] Authorized methods of execution include the Electric chair, the Gas chamber and the Firing Squad.^[291]

In a 2020 study, Oklahoma was ranked as the 14th most difficult state for citizens to vote in.^[292] In May 2020, it became the first state to enact an anti-red flag law, prohibiting the acceptance of any grants or funding to enact red flag laws.^[293]^[294]

State government

The Legislature of Oklahoma consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. As the lawmaking branch of the state government, it is responsible for raising and distributing the money necessary to run the government. The Senate has 48 members serving four-year terms, while the House has 101 members with two-year terms. The state has a term limit for its legislature that restricts any one person to twelve cumulative years service between both legislative branches.^[295]^[296]

Oklahoma's judicial branch consists of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, and 77 District Courts that each serve one county. The Oklahoma judiciary also contains two independent courts: a Court of Impeachment (for impeachment trials) and the Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary. Oklahoma has two courts of last resort: the state Supreme Court hears civil cases, and the state Court of Criminal Appeals hears criminal cases (this split system exists only in Oklahoma and neighboring Texas). Judges of those two courts, as well as the Court of Civil Appeals are appointed by the governor upon the recommendation of the state Judicial Nominating Commission, and are subject to a non-partisan retention vote on a six-year rotating schedule.^[295]

The executive branch consists of the governor, their staff, and other elected officials. The principal head of government, the governor is the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, serving as the ex officio Commander-in-chief of the Oklahoma National Guard when not called into Federal use and reserving the power to veto bills passed through the legislature. The responsibilities of the Executive branch include submitting the budget, ensuring state laws are enforced, and ensuring peace within the state is preserved.^[297]

Local government

The state is divided into 77 counties that govern locally, each headed by a three-member council of elected commissioners, a tax assessor, clerk, court clerk, treasurer, and sheriff.^[298] While each municipality operates as a separate and independent local government with executive, legislative and judicial power, county governments maintain jurisdiction over both incorporated cities and non-incorporated areas within their boundaries, and have executive power but no legislative or judicial power. Both county and municipal governments collect taxes, employ a separate police force, hold elections, and operate emergency response services within their jurisdiction.^[94]^[299] Other local government units include school districts, technology center districts, community college districts, rural fire departments, rural water districts, and other special use districts.

Thirty-nine Native American tribal governments are based in Oklahoma, each holding limited powers within designated areas. While Indian reservations are typical in most of the United States, they are not present in Oklahoma, tribal governments hold land granted during the Indian Territory era, but with limited jurisdiction and no control over state governing bodies such as municipalities and counties. Tribal governments are recognized by the United States as quasi-sovereign entities with executive, judicial, and legislative powers over tribal members and functions, but are subject to the authority of the United States Congress to revoke or withhold certain powers. The tribal governments are required to submit a constitution and any subsequent amendments to the United States Congress for approval.^[300]^[301]

Oklahoma has 11 substate districts including the two large Councils of Governments, INCOG in Tulsa (Indian Nations Council of Governments) and ACOG (Association of Central Oklahoma Governments).

National politics

More information Year, Republican ...

United States presidential election results for Oklahoma^[302]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,020,280	65.37%	503,890	32.29%	36,529	2.34%
2016	949,136	65.32%	420,375	28.93%	83,481	5.75%
2012	891,325	66.77%	443,547	33.23%	0	0.00%
2008	960,165	65.65%	502,496	34.35%	0	0.00%
2004	959,792	65.57%	503,966	34.43%	0	0.00%
2000	744,337	60.31%	474,276	38.43%	15,616	1.27%
1996	582,315	48.26%	488,105	40.45%	136,293	11.29%
1992	592,929	42.65%	473,066	34.02%	324,364	23.33%
1988	678,367	57.93%	483,423	41.28%	9,246	0.79%
1984	861,530	68.61%	385,080	30.67%	9,066	0.72%
1980	695,570	60.50%	402,026	34.97%	52,112	4.53%
1976	545,708	49.96%	532,442	48.75%	14,101	1.29%
1972	759,025	73.70%	247,147	24.00%	23,728	2.30%
1968	449,697	47.68%	301,658	31.99%	191,731	20.33%
1964	412,665	44.25%	519,834	55.75%	0	0.00%
1960	533,039	59.02%	370,111	40.98%	0	0.00%
1956	473,769	55.13%	385,581	44.87%	0	0.00%
1952	518,045	54.59%	430,939	45.41%	0	0.00%
1948	268,817	37.25%	452,782	62.75%	0	0.00%
1944	319,424	44.20%	401,549	55.57%	1,663	0.23%
1940	348,872	42.23%	474,313	57.41%	3,027	0.37%
1936	245,122	32.69%	501,069	66.83%	3,549	0.47%
1932	188,165	26.70%	516,468	73.30%	0	0.00%
1928	394,046	63.72%	219,174	35.44%	5,207	0.84%
1924	226,242	42.82%	255,798	48.41%	46,375	8.78%
1920	243,831	50.11%	217,053	44.61%	25,726	5.29%
1916	97,233	33.25%	148,113	50.65%	47,070	16.10%
1912	90,786	35.77%	119,156	46.95%	43,859	17.28%
1908	110,474	43.33%	122,363	47.99%	22,146	8.69%

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During the first half-century of statehood, Oklahoma was considered a Democratic stronghold, being carried by the Republican Party in only two presidential elections (1920 and 1928). After the 1948 election, the state turned firmly Republican. Although registered Republicans were a minority in the state until 2015,^[303] Oklahoma has been carried by Republican presidential candidates in all but one election since 1952: Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 landslide victory. Every single county in the state has been won by the Republican candidate in each election since 2004. In fact, it was the only state where Barack Obama failed to carry any counties in 2008. Oklahoma City was the largest city in the United States carried by Republican Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Democrats are strongest in urban areas, such as the inner parts of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as the college towns of Norman and Stillwater, and areas which are most heavily African American. The party once held dominance in the eastern part of the state and Little Dixie before the area gradually shifted Republican in the late 2000s. As of the 2020 election, Native American voters, 16% of the state's population, are split, with urban populations supporting the Democrats and rural reservation populaces favoring the Republicans.^[304]

Following the 2000 census, the Oklahoma delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives was reduced from six to five representatives, each serving one congressional district. Oklahoma has had an all-Republican congressional delegation since 2021 and previously from 2013 to 2019.

More information Party, Number of voters ...

Voter registration and party enrollment as of September 30, 2024^[305]
Party		Number of voters	Percentage
	Republican	1,260,649	52.24%
	Democratic	654,363	27.12%
	Libertarian	23,097	0.96%
	No affiliation/Other	475,046	19.68%
Total		2,413,155	100.00%

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