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OKLAHOMA – A new study came out, and it doesn’t look good for Oklahoma.

Apparently, our state ranks 2016’s least politically engaged state, according to WalletHub.

Oklahoma ranks 44th out of 50 states plus Washington, DC when it comes to the percentage of registered voters in the 2012 election and 49th for the number of folks who actually voted in the election.

Combine that with some other stats, Oklahoma comes in dead last as the least politically engaged state.

“People don’t feel like their vote matters, I guess, it’s like throwing it in the trash,” said Ricardo Galindo, 24. “Yeah, I feel like, if I vote, nothing will change.”

Our crews stopped by UCO to talk to a political science professor about the study, who said, since 2008, Oklahoma has been below the national average for voter turnout in presidential elections.

“In 2014, we hit a historic low in terms of our voter turnout in midterm election,” said Dr. Jan Hardt.

One possibility could be the lack of voting convenience, compared to other states.

There’s also a lack of competitiveness on the state level.

In 2014, Hardt said 65 of the 101 Oklahoma House seats on the ballot did not face an opponent during the general election.

Regardless of opinions for this year’s presidential candidates, Hardt said there are seven state questions and other important races on the ballot that need your vote to count.

“I think, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain and you got to make sure your voice is being heard,” Hardt said.

Hardt also thinks the number of military bases in Oklahoma plays a role in the low rankings, because it can be a challenging voting process for service members being stationed out of state during voting and not having other ways to cast their vote.

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