Popular Vote Group Sponsored Trips Before Session

Out-of-state trips precede Oklahoma Senate vote

By SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Several Oklahoma legislators accepted expenses-paid trips to Miami and Las Vegas from a group that wants to change the way the U.S. elects a president, but because the travel was sponsored by a nonprofit group, rather than traditional lobbyists, there’s no requirement for the lawmakers to disclose the trips to the public.

FairVote, which wants states to allocate electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most votes nationally, extended invitations to legislators to attend seminars to learn more about the national popular vote proposal. Another one is set for next month in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

One House member and two state senators, including one who sponsored a bill to change Oklahoma’s law, told The Associated Press they were among the Oklahoma legislators who attended the seminars. All three said the trips didn’t influence their position on the bill, which passed the Senate last week on a 28-18 vote and was sent to the House.

“To me it’s a good way to actually sit down and discuss issues uninterrupted away from the Capitol building,” said state Sen. Rob Johnson, R-Yukon, the Senate author of the bill. “I understand some people’s concerns, but they’re not junkets. We’re there to work. We sat there the entire time and discussed the issue.”

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