Incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R) won the Republican primary election for Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional District on June 18, 2024. Cole received 64.6% of the vote. Paul Bondar (R) finished in second place with 25.8%. Nick Hankins (R), Rick Harris (R), and Andrew Hayes (R) also ran in the primary. Cole and Bondar led in…
The Oklahoma House of Representatives opted not to vote on a set of education rules before the end of the 2024 legislative session, sending the rules to Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) for approval. The rules previously passed the House Administrative Rules Committee 7-3 on May 14. Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters (R) proposed a set…
For 2024, 118 statewide ballot measures have been certified for the ballot in 35 states, six more measures than the average (112) for this point in the election cycle from 2012 to 2022. The average number of statewide ballot measures certified for an even-numbered year during this period was 157. Here’s an update on the…
Oklahoma voters will join Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, and Wisconsin voters in deciding on ballot questions to add language to their respective state constitutions to provide that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections. All six ballot questions were placed on the Nov. 2024 ballot by Republican-controlled state legislatures. Similar measures were on the…
Three states—Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Alabama—banned ranked-choice voting (RCV) in less than a month. All three have Republican-controlled legislatures, and Alabama and Oklahoma have Republican trifectas. RCV was not in use in any of the states at the time. The three new bans bring the total number of states banning RCV to eight. All eight had a Republican-controlled…
On May 13, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) signed HB 1629, a bill that restores voting rights to people convicted of a felony after receiving a pardon or commutation of their sentence. The legislation had bipartisan sponsorship and the final version of the bill passed the Oklahoma State Senate 41-0 on April 16. It then…
Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ (R) announced on May 3 that Barclays boycotted fossil fuel companies under the state’s legal definition and was therefore restricted in its ability to do business with the state. Ballotpedia tracks support for and opposition to the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing movement. To learn more about arguments for,…
On April 29, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) signed HB 3156 into law, banning the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the state. The new law makes Oklahoma the seventh state to ban RCV, and the second state to do so this year after Kentucky did so earlier in the month. Every state that has…
The Oklahoma State Legislature passed a constitutional amendment to create a process for establishing public infrastructure districts within municipalities. Voters will decide on the amendment on Nov. 5, 2025. Public infrastructure districts would be governed by a Board of Trustees, which would have the authority to levy a special assessment of up to 10 mills…