OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled 8-0 last Tuesday that a challenge to a proposed state question was premature. The ruling allows supporters of State Question 836 – a proposal that would change the way primary elections are conducted – to begin collecting signatures.
Opponents of the proposal, which includes the Oklahoma Republican Party, argued that the state question was misleading and the said changes to the primary system would burden Oklahomans’ right to associate with political parties.
In April, the state GOP and Ronda Vuillemont-Smith, a former chair of the Tulsa GOP, filed a lawsuit over the proposed state question. Attorneys for the pair told the court it would be unconstitutional to open Oklahoma’s primary system to any voter.
The high court disagreed. Writing for the majority, Justice Douglass Combs said, “The people’s right to propose law and amendments to the Oklahoma Constitution through the initiative process is precious, and any doubt as to the legal sufficiency of an initiative petition should be resolved in its favor.”
The high court also found the language of the question was not misleading, adding “that any challenge at this stage was premature, and does not impose any ‘severe burden’ on associational rights.”
The court’s ruling also pushes back against legislation that restricted access to the initiative and referendum process, Senate Bill 1027, which limits the number of signatures that can be collected from a single county. The court said the initiative petition’s language “is not misleading.”
Currently, Oklahoma has a closed primary system which prevents voters from one party casting ballots in another party’s primary. However, several years ago, Oklahoma Democrats voted to allow voters who are registered as Independent to vote in the Democratic primary.
Republicans have not opened their primary.
The debate on the Oklahoma system has intensified over the past several years.
Pat McFerron, a strategist and pollster with CMA Strategies, said changes to the state’s primary system were necessary. Speaking at a Carl Albert Center Lunch and Learn event in April, McFerron said SQ 836 would allow registered voters in Oklahoma to vote in any primary election, even if they’re not affiliated with the party hosting that primary.
“The party really controls things … not for the private organizations from the political parties,” McFerron said. “Political parties are not government entities. They are private organizations but they control the process at this point.”
Supporters of the question will need to collect 172,993 signatures of registered Oklahoma voters to ensure the proposed constitutional amendment is placed on a ballot.