Tag: oklahoma
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Oklahoma bans ranked-choice voting, joins six other states in prohibition
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…
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Oklahoma voters to decide constitutional amendment to allow for public infrastructure districts within municipalities
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…
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Primary competition remains steady in Oklahoma’s legislative races for third straight election cycle
There are 125 seats up for election this year in Oklahoma’s legislature—24 in the Senate and 101 in the House. There are 51 total contested primaries in 2024 (six Democratic and 45 Republican). This is in line with the numbers from the past two cycles (49 in 2022 and 52 in 2020). Incumbents facing primary challengers follow a…
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Eighteen candidates are running for Oklahoma’s five U.S. House seats—a decade-low
This year’s filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in Oklahoma was April 5, 2024. Eighteen candidates are running for Oklahoma’s five U.S. House districts, including six Democrats and 12 Republicans. That’s 3.6 candidates per district, less than in the previous three election cycles. There were 5.6 candidates per district in 2022, 5.4 candidates per…
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Six candidates file to appear on Oklahoma’s Democratic presidential primary ballot
The filing deadline for the Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary passed on Dec. 6, 2023. Six candidates filed to appear on the March 5, 2024, ballot. In order to file, candidates had to either pay a $5,000 filing fee or submit a petition containing 5,000 signatures. The following candidates filed: Biden, Phillips, and Williamson have filed…
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Eight candidates file to appear on Oklahoma’s Republican presidential primary ballot
The filing deadline for the Oklahoma Republican presidential primary passed on Dec. 6, 2023. Eight candidates filed to appear on the March 5, 2024, ballot. In order to file, candidates had to either pay a $5,000 filing fee or submit a petition containing 5,000 signatures. The following candidates filed: Binkley, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum,…
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Pensioner sues Oklahoma over ESG restrictions
Former Oklahoma state employee Don Keenan is suing the state, alleging that the Oklahoma law prohibiting state contracts with financial firms that boycott oil, gas, and other types of companies violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Keenan says he thinks oil and gas are important economically but argues the law, in his view, imposes…
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Oklahoma City will vote on measure to levy a 1% sales tax to fund new Oklahoma City Thunder basketball arena on Dec. 12
Voters in Oklahoma City will decide on a ballot measure that would levy a 1% sales tax to fund a new arena for the city’s NBA basketball team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 1% sales tax would be levied for a period of six years beginning on April 1, 2028, and would replace the existing…
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Costs to collect signatures for state ballot initiatives in 2023 were higher than the average for the previous five odd-year cycles
In 2023, $12.95 million was expended on signature drives for seven citizen-initiated ballot measures, including six that voters will decide on Nov. 7. Earlier in 2023, voters decided on a ballot initiative in Oklahoma. The average cost for the signature drives amounted to $1.85 million, ranging from $75,341 for Oklahoma State Question 820 to $6.65…
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Oklahoma pension board votes to retain financial advisors, including BlackRock
An Oklahoma law passed in 2022 required the state treasurer to maintain a list of businesses ineligible to do business with the state due to ESG investing policies. But the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System’s board voted on Aug. 23 to retain its current roster of financial advisers, including businesses that were on the treasurer’s…