Following two historic elections in Georgia where Jon Ossoff (D) took victory over incumbent David Perdue (R) and Rev. Raphael Warnock (D) beat out Kelly Loeffler (R) in a special election, the senate flipped to a democratic control, giving Democratic Presidential-elect Joe Biden full control of both The House of Representatives and Senate.

This historic and close race will undoubtedly give Biden a smooth pathway to following his presidential agenda, so how will this change Oklahoma in the following years?

Police Accountability and Reform

The President-elect said he would allow the U.S. Justice Department to conduct investigations into police departments with a history of civil rights violations. 

Biden could also push Congress to consider passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which establishes a national use-of-force standard, increases use of body cameras, and pushes police departments to ban neck holds and chokeholds. The Oklahoma City Police Department (OKCPD) has been in the news multiple times throughout the past year for use of force incidents. OKCPD currently has the second highest rate of police killings per capita in the country, according to The Frontier.

Biden also has discussed moving federal dollars toward community policing programs and has supported the idea of social workers and mental health experts responding to calls, something the Oklahoma City Police Department has already begun experimenting with by implementing a special mental health task force and increased mental health training for officers.

The Death Penalty

Oklahoma is one of 28 states who currently authorize use of death and has the highest number of executions per capita, according to deathpenaltyinfo.org 

Congressional action would be needed to abolish the federal death penalty, however, Biden could issue a temporary stay of executions. At the state level, Biden would have to use federal grants to give incentives to states who don’t use capital punishment, and stop the executions of the 46 men and women currently in Oklahoma’s death row.

Private Prisons

Biden has said he would immediately work to shut down 12 federal private prisons. Oklahoma is home to one of the prisons, the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton, which would be shut down if Biden follows through with his plans.

Biden has also pushed states to close their private prisons, which Oklahoma has relied on since the 1990s, according to the Oklahoma Watch. However, Oklahoma may already be heading in that direction as a Department of Corrections board voted to close a private prison in July of 2020 in Cushing, leaving just two private prisons remaining holding around 16% of the state’s prison population.

Prison Overcrowding

In 2018, Oklahoma had the nation’s highest imprisonment rate. As of February 2020, StateImpact Oklahoma found Oklahoma now has the third highest imprisonment rate due to Pardon and Parole boards working to already reduce the Oklahoma prison populations. 

“The work of the Pardon and Parole Board, combined with a series of reforms that led to the largest commutation in U.S. history last year has helped Oklahoma shed its status as the state with the highest imprisonment rate” Quinton Chadler of StateImpact Oklahoma said. 

Legislation by the Brennan Center for Justice backed by Biden would put $20 billion toward federal grants that would reward states who reduced their prison population by 7% over a three year period without an increased crime rate. This could mean an even further and faster reduction of the Oklahoma prison population over the coming years.

College and Tuition

Biden has promised to invest in Community Colleges across the nation by investing in workforce training, apprenticeships, and creating new grant programs. Additionally, Biden has strongly advocated to make public colleges and universities free for all families with an income below $125,000. This comes from a proposal from Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s College for All Act of 2017.

“Biden has added to his education beyond high school agenda by adopting Senator Sanders’ proposal to make public colleges and universities tuition free for students whose family incomes are below $125,000,” Joe Biden’s website says. “[The plan] will help roughly 8 out of every 10 families.”

Marijuana Decriminalization and Drug Possession

Biden has made strong pushes towards decriminalizing marijuana and directing more funding to United States drug courts.

“Biden believes that no one should be imprisoned for the use of illegal drugs alone,” Biden’s criminal justice plan said. “Instead, Biden will require federal courts to move these individuals to drug courts so they can receive treatment.”

Oklahoma has a drug court program which started in 1995 and has been implemented in 73 of 77 counties. The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse says those who complete the program have a 7.9% re-arrest rate, lower than drug offenders who are sent to prison, according to the Oklahoma Watch.

“I’m looking forward to working with [Biden] to get financial relief directly to the people, beat COVID-19, and build a healthier, more prosperous, more just America for all.” Ossoff said in a tweet.