Oklahoma Republican turnout rises while Democratic numbers plummet from 2020 primary to 2024

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump each sailed to victory in Oklahoma's presidential preference primaries, to no one's surprise.

But the results revealed areas of the state where support for Trump has softened, particularly in metropolitan areas.

In regards to voter turnout, fewer voters went to the polls this year than in 2020, though Democratic voter turnout was markedly low in comparison to Republican turnout.

Here's what to know about voter turnout in Oklahoma on Super Tuesday.

How many Oklahomans voted on Super Tuesday?

Just 17.4% of Oklahomans eligible to vote in the presidential preferential primary cast a ballot, either through in-person or absentee voting, according to unofficial results from the Oklahoma Election Board.

About 200,000 fewer Oklahomans voted in the Super Tuesday primary compared to Super Tuesday in 2020.

Voters in the Democratic primary, which could include both registered Democrats and independents, accounted entirely for the drop in ballots cast. Only 91,000 voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary this year compared to 304,000 in 2020.

In contrast, about 16,000 more Republicans turned out to vote this year compared to 2020.

The number of those who voted in this year's Democratic primary was even more of a drop compared to 2016, when 335,000 voted in the contest between Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and five other candidates.

But in 2012, when incumbent President Barack Obama was on the primary ballot against four opponents, a similar 112,000 voters turned out.

Why was Democratic turnout down in Oklahoma's Super Tuesday?

Oklahoma isn't the only state where Democratic voter turnout dropped significantly, in a year where the race for the Democratic presidential nominee has notably lacked competition.

The Sooner State's southern neighbor Texas saw a drop of about 200,000 early voters between the 2020 primary and 2024, entirely accounted for by Democrats, according to the Texas Tribune. Democratic turnout was the lowest it's been in years in the South Carolina presidential primary, CBS News reported.

In other states like Michigan, where voters have the option of casting an "uncommitted" ballot, thousands of Democrats have voted uncommitted in a protest against Biden's inaction towards a ceasefire in Gaza.

The lower turnout also can be attributed to voters being unenthusiastic about their options this year, said James Davenport, an associate dean and political science professor at Rose State College.

"Primaries always have lower turnout than general elections, but it's been kind of consistent in national polling, nobody seems super excited for Trump versus Biden, Round Two," Davenport said. "The interesting thing is they keep voting to give us Trump versus Biden ... in poll after poll in many places, you were seeing that people would prefer to have different options. And yet, when push comes to shove, those are the options they're selecting."

Contributing: Dale Denwalt, The Oklahoman

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma elections: Republican turnout rises from 2020 while Dems drop