by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Oklahoma is not exactly a progressive state in the political sense. In fact, during the two times that Barack Obama ran for President - 2008 and 2012 - he did not carry one single county in the Sooner State, not one!
But yesterday in their primary election, the good people of Oklahoma did something that undoubtedly came as a shock to most of them when the votes were counted. Oklahoma voters passed a provision that will bring about the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in their state, something that their state legislature has consistently refused to do. Now, thanks to the citizen's initiative, many more poor Oklahomans will be able to receive health care at little or no cost, and more money will be pumped into the state's struggling health care system.
It wasn't an easy victory. In fact of more that 673,000 total votes cast, the measure passed by just around 6,500 votes - or roughly one percent of the vote total. It was a squeaker, but in the end the measure passed and Oklahoma will become the 37th state to expand Medicaid.
The remaining thirteen, those which have not yet expanded Medicaid to take advantage of available federal money to help their citizens obtain health care, include: Wisconsin, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.
In just over a month Missouri voters will go to the polls for our state's primary election, and this year's primary ballot contains a proposed Constitutional Amendment that was generated through public petitions and would expand Medicaid in the show-me state. Missouri, like Oklahoma, has been burdened with a Republican legislature that has fought the idea of expanding Medicaid and providing health care to more Missourians, but that could change this year, just as it did in Oklahoma yesterday, with the citizen's initiative.
In fact, the measure should face less of a climb in Missouri than it had in Oklahoma.
This year Missourians may vote by mail in the state's primary if they meet one of several criteria for being at risk for contracting coronavirus. One of those criteria is being age sixty-five or older, another is having diabetes, and another is having a heart condition. Liver disease also qualifies as does chronic lung or kidney disease. (All are listed on the application page.)
Absentee ballot applications and vote-by-mail applications for the August 4th Missouri primary election are available at the Missouri Secretary of State's webpage @ https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/ElectionGoVoteMissouri//2020FillableBallotApplication.pdf
This Missourian has already voted - and you should, too!
Citizen Journalist
Oklahoma is not exactly a progressive state in the political sense. In fact, during the two times that Barack Obama ran for President - 2008 and 2012 - he did not carry one single county in the Sooner State, not one!
But yesterday in their primary election, the good people of Oklahoma did something that undoubtedly came as a shock to most of them when the votes were counted. Oklahoma voters passed a provision that will bring about the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in their state, something that their state legislature has consistently refused to do. Now, thanks to the citizen's initiative, many more poor Oklahomans will be able to receive health care at little or no cost, and more money will be pumped into the state's struggling health care system.
It wasn't an easy victory. In fact of more that 673,000 total votes cast, the measure passed by just around 6,500 votes - or roughly one percent of the vote total. It was a squeaker, but in the end the measure passed and Oklahoma will become the 37th state to expand Medicaid.
The remaining thirteen, those which have not yet expanded Medicaid to take advantage of available federal money to help their citizens obtain health care, include: Wisconsin, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.
In just over a month Missouri voters will go to the polls for our state's primary election, and this year's primary ballot contains a proposed Constitutional Amendment that was generated through public petitions and would expand Medicaid in the show-me state. Missouri, like Oklahoma, has been burdened with a Republican legislature that has fought the idea of expanding Medicaid and providing health care to more Missourians, but that could change this year, just as it did in Oklahoma yesterday, with the citizen's initiative.
In fact, the measure should face less of a climb in Missouri than it had in Oklahoma.
This year Missourians may vote by mail in the state's primary if they meet one of several criteria for being at risk for contracting coronavirus. One of those criteria is being age sixty-five or older, another is having diabetes, and another is having a heart condition. Liver disease also qualifies as does chronic lung or kidney disease. (All are listed on the application page.)
Absentee ballot applications and vote-by-mail applications for the August 4th Missouri primary election are available at the Missouri Secretary of State's webpage @ https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/ElectionGoVoteMissouri//2020FillableBallotApplication.pdf
This Missourian has already voted - and you should, too!
1 comment:
Frequently Republicans put ballot initiatives on the lower turnout primary election ballots. They use this technique to drive their base to the polls. Believe it is called wedge issue politics. What the Oklahoma vote demonstrates is how far out of touch the Republicans are from their base on the issues surrounding healthcare.
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