Open primary ballot plan OK’d by Oklahoma Supreme Court

By:Emma Murphy

OKLAHOMA CITY — An initiative petition aiming to reform Oklahoma’s election system and open primaries can begin collecting signatures following a ruling from the Oklahoma Supreme Court. 

The state’s high court on Tuesday ruled 8-0 that a challenge to State Question 836 was premature. Opponents, including the Oklahoma state Republican Party, argued in June the state question’s gist was misleading and the suggested reforms would burden Oklahomans’ right to associate with political parties. 

“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,” Justice Douglas Combs wrote in the majority opinion. 

The Supreme Court found the gist was not misleading, that any challenge at this stage was premature, and does not impose any “severe burden” on associational rights. 

The proposed state question needs almost 173,000 signatures to make it onto a future ballot. If approved, it would open primary elections to all voters. While Oklahoma primaries are currently closed, parties can choose to open them to 466,000 registered independent voters. Only Democrats currently do. 

State Question 836 proposes allowing voters to choose one candidate for each office and the top two voter-getters advance to the general election regardless of political party. Presidential primary elections would be unaffected. 

Tony Stobbe, a proponent for the ballot measure and involved in the lawsuit, said in a statement following Tuesday’s ruling that the state question is about giving every voter a voice in Oklahoma elections regardless of party affiliation. 

“Today’s ruling is a victory for Oklahoma voters and a defeat for the insiders and power-brokers who benefit from today’s closed, exclusionary primary process,” he said. “We are eager to begin collecting signatures and to take this transformative conversation directly to the people. In the next few weeks, you’ll see our volunteers on street corners, in parking lots, at sporting events, and in every corner of the state, talking with everyday Oklahomans about why it’s time to open our primaries and put voters first.”

Ronda Vuillemont-Smith, a former Tulsa GOP chair, who is one of the parties challenging the measure, said she wasn’t surprised by the Supreme Court ruling. 

“It was kind of expected,” she said. “When you challenge a case like that, you know that there’s a chance, and after sitting through the hearing I really didn’t think that it was going to come down in our favor. But what it did do is it did postpone their collecting of signatures.”

Supporters will need to collect signatures under a new law, Vuillemont-Smith said. Among other things, Senate Bill 1027 creates restrictions on where signatures can be gathered, which critics say will make it more difficult to qualify citizen-led measures for the ballot. Opponents filed a challenge to the new law. 

The Oklahoma Supreme Court this week halted implementation of the law as it pertains to State Question 836, but denied a broader request to stop it from taking effect for other initiatives while legal proceedings play out.

Vuillemont-Smith said there’s a potential to challenge the state question when signatures are submitted. 

“I do look forward to following this process through and see where it goes,” she said. “It’s something I do not believe is good for Oklahoma.”

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