The Oklahoma Supreme Court has decisively cleared the way for State Question 836, a proposed constitutional amendmentthatwould allow voters to decide if primary elections in the state should be open to all voters, regardless of political party registration. In an 8-0 ruling, the court found that legal challenges to the measure at this stage are premature, allowing the petitioners to begin gathering signatures.
Currently, Oklahoma operates underaclosedprimary system, meaning only voters whoareregisteredwithaparticular party can vote in that party’sprimary.Independent voters are largely excluded unless a party explicitly allows them.
UnderStateQuestion836, all voters, including those registered as independents, would be able to vote in primaries and all candidates for a given office would appear on a single ballot, regardless of party. The top two votegetters would advance to the general election.
Opponents, including the Oklahoma Republican Party and others, argued that State Question 836 violates constitutional rights, particularly the First Amendment right of political parties to choose how their candidates are nominated, and that the description (or “gist”) of the petition is misleading. The court did not find those arguments persuasive at this stage.
It held that the gist is sufficiently clear, that any novelty or burden the proposal mightimposeisnotyetsevere enough to block its progress and that challenges to constitutional sufficiency are premature before the petition is advanced. Supporters of the measure hailed the decision as a win for democracy and for voters who feel shut out of primary elections.
Tony Stobbe, a lead proponent of the campaign, described the ruling as a victory over“insidersandpowerbrokers” and said efforts will soon begin in earnest to collect the nearly 173,000 valid signatures required to put the question on the ballot. A complicating factor has been a recently passed law, Senate Bill 1027, which places new limits on how signatures for citizen-led initiatives may be collected, including caps on the number of signatures from any one county.
Supporters of SQ 836 have challenged that law, arguing that it unfairly changes the rules midstream. The Supreme Court has temporarily stayed application of SB 1027 with respect to SQ 836 while challenges proceed. If the petition gathers the required signatures and qualifies, the open primaries amendment would appear on an upcoming election ballot for the people of Oklahoma to vote on directly.