Process to open up Oklahoma's primary elections underway
KOCO 5 Oklahoma City - A push is underway in Oklahoma to get rid of Republican and Democratic primaries and open them up to every voter.
The fate of the state's primaries could be in the hands of voters. Supporters of opening up Oklahoma's primaries said they want to do this through a ballot initiative question.
"Open primaries connect voters to government," said Margaret Kobos, the founder of Oklahoma United. "All politicians are going to be more interested in what we all think."
Democratic primaries are currently open to Independent voters, while Republican and Libertarian primaries are only open to members of their party.
With the proposed model, Kobos said all candidates, regardless of party, would be up against each other. The top two candidates would then move to the general election.
"It would be as if we are all going to the same restaurant. We all get the same menu, and we all get to pick if we want the chicken or the fish," Kobos said.
State Rep. Mickey Dollens, a Democrat, said opening up primaries would make elections nonpartisan and force politicians to be held accountable.
"They would have to campaign and appeal to the broader electorate, which would result in less extremists," Dollens said.
Lawmakers like state Sen. Nathan Dahm, who is the state GOP chairman, said he is against the idea.
"Those that are advocating for open primaries would be like asking an atheist to come and vote for who should be the next pastor of your church," Dahm said.
Oklahoma United is in the early grassroots stages of organizing a ballot initiative to change how primaries are done in the state. They said they hope to bring the state question forward soon.
.OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahomans may get a chance to change the election process by ending closed primaries.
Oklahoma supporters of open primaries are working on an initiative petition to let voters decide whether or not a massive change is needed.
Margaret Kobos is CEO and founder of Oklahoma United, founded in 2021 to bring common sense solutions that engage the electorate and create better connections between government and the people.
“The version we find most popular is truly an open primary with a single primary ballot,” Kobos said. “All candidates would be on it.”
Party identification would still be listed, she said. The primary runoff would be eliminated, she said.
The top two vote-getters would advance to the general election, she said.
“It puts the emphasis in an election on the candidates and the issues,” Kobos said.
“It also makes the elected officials accountable to all voters, not just the voters in their own party.”
Kobos said it would increase voter participation, especially among young voters and voters who don’t think their vote counts.
The details of the initiative petition are still being worked out, she said. It hasn’t been determined if it will be a proposed statutory change or a constitutional amendment, Kobos said.
She estimated the cost to collect the necessary signatures to be $10 million to $12 million, based on the cost of the successful Medicaid expansion state question.
Democrats have opened their primaries to independents, while Republicans and Libertarians have not.
“It is wrong to force someone to pay for an election and not let them participate in it,” she said.
Oklahoma has a growing number of voters who registered as independent.
In January 2014, the figure was 238,870, which grew to 436,041 in 2024, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board.
Kobos said the current election structure was designed for a world in which we no longer live.
“Today, people expect to have choices and have the same choices everybody else has,” she said.
Ronda Vuillemont-Smith, chair of the Tulsa County Republican Party, is against open primaries.
Parties have the right to choose how they will pick their nominees, she said. “We are not denying anyone the right to vote,” she said. “We are just saying you have to be a registered Republican to do so.”
Under the proposal, two Republicans and no Democrats could wind up on the general election ballot, she said.
But not all Republicans are against the idea.
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt runs on a non-partisan ballot. Holt, a Republican who formerly served in the Oklahoma Senate, said Oklahoma City’s open primaries force politicians to reach out to all sides to find solutions to move the city forward.
He believes the state’s closed primary system concentrates too much power in the hands of a minority at the expense of the majority of voters, resulting in extremism.
“Some of the people in elected office are crazy and some pretend to be crazy, but the outcomes seem to be the same,” Holt said.
A closed partisan primary leaves people out, Holt said.
“It forces the biggest decisions to be made in August in the runoff by the fewest number of people, and those people come from a very narrow perspective,” Holt said.
In 2022, Oklahoma Watch reported that nearly 70% of Oklahoma legislative races would be decided before the November general election.
The idea of open primaries in Oklahoma is far from new. Other states have adopted it.
In 2017, the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals, a nonprofit that deals with the major public policy issues facing the state, listed open primaries as their top policy recommendation, said Lynn Thompson, a spokesperson.
“Compared to our current party primary, runoff and general election schedule, the Top-Two system could potentially increase voter participation, reduce partisanship, and could also eliminate fringe special interest involvement in campaigns because candidates would be forced to respond to more moderate, general voters rather than play to the extremes of either party,” the 2017 report said.
John Opdycke is president of Open Primaries, which was formed in 2009.
He said the group wants to give independent voters more access and to address a growing concern that legislative bodies were ineffective and unable to craft creative and innovative legislation on issues of concern.
The partisan system incentivizes politicians to care more about the very small percent of the party base that votes in the primaries, he said.
“When you have a closed party primary system, candidates are forced to appeal to the most partisan, the most ideological members of their own party to win the nomination,” he said.
Republican political consultant Fount Holland said you have to be the conservative in the primary. But he points out that campaigns are very different from governing.
“You can be conservative in principle, but then you have to make it work (once elected),” Holland said, adding that he did not have a position on open primaries.
Editorial: Update Oklahoma election laws to give voters freedom to make more candidate choices
Oklahoma’s bottom ranking in voter turnout is likely the consequence of the state’s woefully outdated and exclusionary election laws. It’s time Oklahoma voters demand a better marketplace for ideas and the freedom to make choices.
In 2022, nearly 900,000 Oklahoma voters were shut out of voting in contested races, according to a national analysis by the Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism team. About 58% (31 of 53) of those contested state and federal races were decided outright in primaries that were closed to all but party members.
It doesn’t have to be that way. The majority of states have some form of open primaries and have much more engaged civic involvement as a result. Oklahoma has examples within the state showing how open ballots encourage better public discourse.
For example, the Tulsa mayor and city councilors are elected on nonpartisan, open ballots. Campaigns are focused on selling as many voters on their ideas as possible. Candidates knock on more doors, public forums cater to all constituents, and every eligible Tulsa voter has the freedom to choose who they feel has the best pitch.
The ballot is simple: All candidates are put on a list. The top two winners go to a general election, unless one gets more than 50% of the vote. For decades, the result has been a diverse council with a range of perspectives and backgrounds, and mayors who seek a consensus among city leaders and residents.
Tulsa has thrived under this election system. Oklahoma would benefit by doing something similar.
Moving to open primaries is about freedom and choice. Political parties still play a role, and some states put the party designation next to candidates’ names on ballots. The reform would be updating the system to involve all voters in deciding on government representatives.
This isn’t a radical idea. But pushback will come from political party leaders and sitting elected officials fearful of losing power or influence. If a party’s candidates have the best vision and plans for an office, then voters will respond — that’s the free market approach.
However, incumbents got elected because this current system works for them, even if it’s not working for all Oklahoma voters. They won’t support a change.
That leaves the initiative petition route, which can be onerous and expensive. It’s also the mechanism used often in Oklahoma when lawmakers ignore the will of the people.
The biggest threat to the American form of democracy is voter apathy, not fraud. Instead of wringing hands over whether to watermark mailed ballots or require more identification, remove obstacles preventing voters from casting a ballot.
Give voters the freedom to consider all candidates and all ideas. That’s the truest form of a representative republic.
Group works to change Oklahoma to open primary system
NewsOn6, Tulsa - Election season is well underway in several states and Oklahoma primary elections are coming up in March. Here in Oklahoma, we have partially closed primaries. Two election experts, Jeremy Gruber with Open Primaries and Margaret Kobos with Oklahoma United, joined News on 6 to discuss the push for open primary elections and what that would mean for voters.
Oklahoma’s partially closed primary means that the democratic party allows people registered as independent to vote in their elections, but the republican party only allows people registered as republican.
“Oklahoma is one of only 14 states that have closed primaries, which means independent voters can't vote in primary elections,” Gruber said. “Around the country, independents are the largest group of voters now in the country. Just this week, Gallup came out with their polling that found 43 percent of voters are independent and that's happening right here in Oklahoma. Twenty percent of Oklahoma voters are independent. It's the fastest growing group of voters in the state. They can't vote in primary elections, the elections that matter.”
Oklahoma United is a non-partisan organization that is working to change our partially closed primaries to open primaries.
“We're seeking reforms and answers to a system that is not serving everybody[...] The first thing that you look at when you research this are the is the exclusion of independent voters in the primary system,” Kobos said “We want all voters to have the freedom to vote for the person they want. The person in their minds is the best person for the job, regardless of where they come from. And we want all independents to be able to vote equally as a party member. You shouldn't have to be forced to join a party in order to exercise your constitutional right to vote in elections that you're funding.”
For more information on Oklahoma’s partially closed election and why groups like Oklahoma United are pushing to change it. Watch the full interview.
Closed primaries shut out millions of voters, divide Americans into "Warring Camps"
Two poll workers unintentionally rattled David Bohlken two decades ago when he walked into a petite country church near Tulsa to vote for his first time as an Oklahoman.
They wouldn’t offer him a ballot. Only a cup of coffee.
“The ballot got flipped upside down on me. I wasn’t even allowed to look at it,” Bohlken said, noting that the two apologetic poll volunteers — his friends — were just doing their jobs. “That kind of made me feel bad.”
Bohlken grew up in Minnesota, a state with open primaries, where all registered voters may participate in any party’s primary election. He didn’t realize his status as a registered independent in Oklahoma would exclude him from partisan primaries.
Millions of voters in states like Oklahoma with primaries that are at least partially closed are shut out from voting in contested races because of their independent status or party affiliation, denying participation in elections their tax dollars fund.
In some cases, those primaries decide who wins the seat outright.
Across nine closed or partially closed primary states, about two in five registered voters in districts with contested U.S. Congressional primary elections in the 2022 midterms were barred from casting ballots in those races, according to a Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism team analysis of publicly available data.
The 2024 election season has officially begun and voters are heading out to the polls and casting their votes for who they think deserves the party's nomination in primary elections. But in states with closed primaries, voters find themselves not being able to vote for the candidate they want, or be excluded from voting entirely.
Similarly, about two in five registered voters throughout those nine states in districts with contested state legislative primaries in 2022 were prohibited from participation.
In 181 of those 590 contested federal and state primaries, disallowed voters were entirely blocked from a choice in who represents them because the primaries decided who won the office — either directly or with an uncontested general election, according to Lee Enterprises’ analysis.
That’s almost one in three districts where the excluded voters had no say in their representation.
Jeremy Gruber, a lawyer and senior vice president of Open Primaries, a national advocacy group, frames the issue in stark terms.
“There's a country where when you vote in the general election, half the time there's only one person on the ballot. Almost every time it's an uncompetitive election, and half the voters in the country are barred from the first round or limited,” Gruber said. “And even the voters that can participate are segregated into warring camps. People would say, ‘Well, that doesn't make sense. That doesn't sound democratic.’
“‘Where is that? What strange country has that system?’ But that's us. That's our system.”
Gruber is part of a burgeoning movement across the U.S. to open up primaries so all registered voters can participate.
As the 2024 election season begins, there are already about a dozen active campaigns in states across the U.S., including Oklahoma, Arizona, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Idaho.
Proponents who are pushing for changes — through citizen-led ballot initiatives, state law changes or even lawsuits — say open primaries strengthen American democracy by allowing all registered voters equal access to taxpayer-funded elections while broadening voter choice and improving outcomes through competition.
Independents are Oklahoma's fastest growing voter block. What does that mean for Republicans?
Unaffiliated voters are the fastest-growing large voting block in Oklahoma, according to the latest statistics released by the Oklahoma State Election Board.
Nearly one of every five Oklahoma voters registered as an independent. Four years ago, independents made up just 15% of voters — now it's just shy of 19%.
Since the last presidential election, the number of people who refused to pick a party has risen 31% with the addition of more than 100,000 independent registrations.
It's a trend seen across the United States, particularly with young voters. National polling and Oklahoma-specific data indicate they are more politically disengaged than older generations, but also might be less polarized. A survey of more than 4,000 young adults showed 61% don’t align with either major political party.
Independents aren't the only voting block seeing record numbers, though. The third-largest party in the state, the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma, has nearly doubled in size to 21,910 registered voters since 2020.
"It's an indication that even in Oklahoma, as Republican-dominated a state as we are, there's a growing dissatisfaction with both parties," said political scientist James Davenport.
Despite that, he said, there's no indication that Republican dominance over state government is under threat. The GOP saw smaller but still impressive growth since 2020, and now makes up over 50% of voters.
Democrats continued to see plummeting registration numbers over the past four years, losing more than 85,000 voters. The once-powerful Oklahoma Democratic Party now has just 28.4% of the voter share, down from 35.3% in 2020.
Democrats enjoyed decades of local political dominance; between statehood and 1973, four out of five state legislators in Oklahoma were Democrats. The party was the major political force largely because of its appeal to rural voters, especially in the southeast, a region dubbed "Little Dixie" because of political and cultural ties to the Southern United States.
Those conservative rural strongholds now register with the Republican Party. Today, it's hard for a Democrat to win outside of an urban area.
"It's an amazing reversal from decades long gone, in which those numbers were completely flipped for Republicans and Democrats," said Davenport, an associate dean and professor at Rose State College. "Democrats, I think, have a challenge, and there's obviously going to be some kind of threshold where they will fall below. And the question is, what are they going to do to start increasing that?"
Seven years ago, the Oklahoma Democratic Party agreed to let independents vote in Democratic primaries. So far, they are the only party to schedule open primary elections and recently announced that the practice will continue through 2025.
There is a growing movement in Oklahoma to mandate open primaries as a way to counter partisan extremism in government. A group of influential local and state officials recently met to discuss how Oklahoma could restructure the way politicians are elected and hope to present voters with an initiative petition within a few years.
The number of registered voters of any affiliation grew over 10% since 2020, according to the state Election Board. As of Jan. 15, there were 2.3 million registered voters, up from 2.1 million in 2020.
If you'd like to vote or change your voter registration, you can now complete forms at the state Election Board's website. Oklahoma became the 41st state to adopt online voter registration last year, allowing eligible U.S. citizens with a state driver’s license or state-issued ID card to complete the entire process online.
Should changes be made to Oklahoma's primary system?
KOCO 5 heard from Oklahoma United for Progress and got a reaction from Oklahoma's Republican Party. Watch here.
Would Oklahomans approve a change in the state's primary election system?
As a Republican member of Tulsa’s city council, G.T. Bynum rather forcefully opposed a proposal to make municipal elections in Oklahoma’s second-largest city nonpartisan. But voters were in favor of the plan and the change was made.
Now in his second term as Tulsa’s mayor, Bynum has completely altered his viewpoint.
He's now a fan of nonpartisan elections and their cousin, open primaries, saying they lead to more effective government by reducing the potential for partisanship in office.
Bynum joined three other prominent Republicans, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, former U.S. Rep. Mickey Edwards and Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn at a recent fundraiser for a group called Oklahoma United for Progress that is seeking to promote the idea of some sort of open-primary system for Oklahoma.
There are two main types of open primaries:
One allows voters to participate in Democratic and Republican primaries regardless of how they are registered. Oklahoma's Democratic Party now allows independents to vote in their primary, but not Republicans. However, the state's Republican Party only allows registered Republicans to participate. The same is true for the Libertarian party and registered Libertarians.
Another option is having a single primary election in which Republicans, Democrats and independents could all vote. The two candidates with the most votes, regardless of their party, would advance to the general election.
The early November event drew politicians from across the political spectrum, including Democrats like state Rep. Andy Fugate of Oklahoma City, state Rep. Jared Deck of Norman, state Rep. Annie Menz of Norman and state Sen. Julia Kirt of Oklahoma City.
Bynum said he originally opposed making the Tulsa mayor's race nonpartisan because he thought that the involvement of the political parties would increase voter turnout.
“I was dead wrong," he said. "We have not seen any such decline. The other key thing for me that made me change was seeing, even on our city council, the change in dynamic. There are still differences in opinion … but it’s over policy and personalities, not partisan identity. When I ran for mayor, I ran as a committed nonpartisan with Republican support, Democratic support and independent support and I’ve tried to govern that way.”
Margaret Kobos of Tulsa, the founder of Oklahoma United for Progress, said the eventual goal is generating support for an initiative petition that would propose some form of change to the primary system. She said the group needs to determine first, through polling, what sort of ballot language would have the optimal chance at passage.
“’Open primaries’ means a lot of things,” said Holt, who – like Bynum – was elected through a nonpartisan vote. “What we mean is (having) a better system than the one we have.”
Edwards, 86, served as the 5th District representative in the U.S. House from 1977 to 1993. He long has been a proponent of changing the primary system. In 2012, he wrote a book, “The Parties Versus the People,” decrying partisanship and arguing for a change in how political candidates are selected.
Edwards grew up in Oklahoma City, attending Capitol Hill High School, and tells a story about trying to register as a Republican as a young man in the 1950s. It was suggested to him that he should register instead as a Democrat, since that party held most of the political power in Oklahoma at the time.
Decades later, the political pendulum has swung in favor of Republicans, who hold commanding majorities in both the state House and Senate and control each of the state’s seven congressional seats and every statewide elected post. In numerous state races, Edwards notes, Democrats don’t even field a candidate, which means Republican primary voters are choosing representatives for all the people of the state with no input from Democrats or independent voters. He argues that this situation concentrates power in the hands of party leadership and doesn’t encourage the selection of candidates who might have more moderate or centrist views.
According to Oklahoma State Election Board figures, there were 2,288,500 registered voters at the end of October. Of those, more than half — 1,184,156 — were registered Republicans. There were 654,433 registered Democrats, 428,357 registered independents and 21,554 registered Libertarians.
Open-primary supporters also argue that the lack of competitive state races can affect turnout in the general election. For example, Oklahoma had the nation’s lowest overall participation rate in the 2020 presidential election, which also meant a lower turnout for state races on the same ballot.
On the 2022 state ballot, of the 831,778 eligible voters living in a Senate district with an election, 162,383 were unable to cast a vote because they were registered as an independent or a member of a party that did not have a candidate, according to The Oklahoman’s analysis of voter data. More than 209,000 voters also could not participate in open state House district elections because they could not vote in the only primary race being held.
Open-primary advocates say the lack of choices in such elections often results in representatives who, once in office, cater only to their party’s primary voters and not to the electorate at large.
“There are so many reasons to dislike closed, partisan primaries,” said Holt, who served in the Oklahoma Senate before becoming Oklahoma City’s mayor. “Mine is mostly just about good government and the fact that the entire electorate makes better decisions than subsets of the electorate do. I’ve seen both. I ran in a closed partisan primary as a senator. I never had a general election for two terms as senator. All I ever was incentivized to be concerned with was the subset of my electorate, which was essentially a little less than half, who were registered Republicans. But don’t I serve everybody?
“As mayor, I run in a system where all of the voters get to see all of the candidates and all of the candidates have to face all of the voters and you have an entirely different set of incentives," Holt said. "The political gravity of the electorate is in a different place.”
Osborn said her recent electoral experience is indicative of the difference an open-primary system could make. Considered a moderate Republican, she survived a close GOP runoff in 2022 — winning with only 53 percent of the vote against a more-conservative candidate. But then she won 65.7 percent of the vote in the general election, which included both Democratic and Libertarian opponents. Her 747,037 votes were the second-most among any candidate for statewide office, trailing only Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
Matt Hindman, the chairman of the political science department at the University of Tulsa, said some Oklahoma voters already are trying to work within the system, registering as Republicans to try and elect more moderate GOP candidates at the primary stage.
He's skeptical that an open-primary system would result in a sea change in the type of candidates that emerge.
“If you’re looking to undermine the authority of party leaders, open primaries are a mildly effective way to do that,” Hindman said. “If Oklahoma implements an open primary, are we going to see a big difference in the type of candidates that emerge? At the margins, maybe it could lead to different types of candidates. The evidence I see is that this won’t be the cure-all they think it will be.”
Opinion: I'm a 17-year old Oklahoma student and my peers don't see the point in voting.
If you’ve ever looked at the headlines and thought to yourself, “What the heck is going on?” you’re not alone. I’m right there with you.
Have you thought, said or heard the phrase: “My vote doesn’t matter.” I hear this phrase from all sides of the political spectrum.
Republicans feel as if their votes don’t matter because the current primary system heavily favors their party, so there’s really no reason to participate. Democrats feel as though their votes have no weight at all due to their lack of representation in state government. Independents and Libertarians often share the same sentiment because they have few or no choices.
My friends and I want to be hopeful for our state’s future, but we all feel completely powerless and like no one values us.
I’m 17 years old and a senior at Oologah-Talala. Many of my peers accept that their votes don’t make a difference.
COLUMN: Do closed primaries hurt the process?
Oklahoma recently made a significant change to its voting registration process. You can now register to vote online. (It’s important to point out this is only online registration, not online voting.) It took eight years for implementation, after approval by the state Legislature, while the state updated its driver’s license and ID information databases to make the system work.
Now, one group is looking to reform the state’s primary elections.
When our family moved to Oklahoma in the ‘70s, my mother told me several years later she had to switch her voter registration from Republican to Democrat. Few, if any, GOP-registered candidates ran for state or local office in those days so, with Oklahoma’s closed primary system, she was effectively walled out of voting in most races. Today the script has flipped and its Democrats who are frequently denied the chance to vote.
New group seeks changes in Oklahoma closed primary system
Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider - taking you inside politics, policy and government in Oklahoma. I'm Dick Pryor with Quorum Call publisher Shawn Ashley. For more than 30 years, Oklahoma's election system has been considered one of the most secure and most reliable in the United States. The process has changed from time to time, but the way Oklahoma runs elections and counts votes is a model for the nation. One aspect of the electoral process, though, is drawing new attention. Oklahoma's closed primary system. A new group is pushing for change and its leader is our guest. Margaret Kobos is founder and CEO of Oklahoma United. Margaret, thanks for joining us.
Margaret Kobos: Thank you so much for your interest.
Shawn Ashley: Margaret, what does your group see as the problem with Oklahoma's closed primaries?
Margaret Kobos: I could just get so revved up on this, but the bottom line is we are all seeing and feeling a gulf between policies and elected officials, including those who are honestly and sincerely trying to do their jobs to represent us and the people. And it's demonstrated in a lot of different ways.
Oklahoma group pushing for open primary elections
In Oklahoma, primary elections are largely open to only voters registered with a political party.
The parties have the option to open their primaries. The Democratic Party has allowed independents to vote in the party’s primaries for the past four years. Republicans and Libertarians have not.
Some Oklahomans are trying to change that.
Oklahoma United for Progress, a non-profit organization, is seeking to open the state’s primary system to all registered voters. The group believes it will increase voter participation and reduce political extremism and reduce costs for elections.
The group hosted a panel discussion about open primaries last week at The Press restaurant in Oklahoma City. Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn and Open Primaries leader and attorney Jeremy Gruber served as panelists. Former State Sen. A.J. Griffin moderated the event.
Will one of the Nation's Most Partisan States Open Its Primaries?
Oklahoma is as deep red as a state can get. Of the 2.2 million registered voters, over half are registered Republicans. But does this mean that voters outside the party shouldn’t have a say in who represents them?
Primaries are the most critical stage of the election process for most elections in the US, and in a state where half of voters are registered with a single party, most races are decided before the general election at every level.
Oklahoma law stipulates that primary elections are reserved only for party members by default, but the parties may decide for themselves to allow participation from independent voters. This is known as a semi-closed partisan primary system.
Nearly 20% of the registered voting population is told to sit out while their representatives are chosen for them in low-turnout primary elections, some of which may only advance a candidate from the majority party.
Okla.'s primaries leave out voters
Oklahoma's Senate District 4, a region of tree-covered foothills that hugs the state's eastern border, is represented by Tom Woods, a feed store owner and rancher elected last year after advancing past a Republican primary and winning the party's runoff election.
The runoff win assured Woods the open Senate seat as no Democrat, Libertarian or independent candidate filed for the race, making a general election in November unnecessary.
The lack of non-Republican candidates also meant the district's 21,000 voters not registered as Republican - nearly half of the district's electorate - had no say in their next state senator.
Editorial: Election reforms in open primaries, no straight-party option to calm the rhetoric
Tulsa and Oklahoma City municipal elections have proven something: When every voter gets the same ballot, candidates representing the broadest consensus of a community emerge. That’s a good outcome.
When citizens feel they have a choice in their representation, they tend to vote more often and enter public life. Civic engagement goes up, and elected officials are more responsive to constituents.
Oklahoma faces a crisis in democracy. Since 2008, the state ranks in the bottom 10 in voter turnout for presidential races, including next to last in 2020. In the November election, 76% of Oklahoma voters younger than 30 did not vote.
Why advocates want to change Oklahoma's primary voting system
Oklahoma’s Senate District 4, a region of tree-covered foothills that hugs the state’s eastern border, is represented by Tom Woods, a feed store owner and rancher elected last year after advancing past a Republican primary and winning the party’s runoff election.
The runoff win assured Woods the open Senate seat as no Democrat, Libertarian or independent candidate filed for the race, making a general election in November unnecessary.
The lack of non-Republican candidates also meant the district’s 21,000 voters not registered as Republican — nearly half of the district’s electorate — had no say in their next state senator.
It was a similar situation for one out of every five Oklahoma voters last year who lived in a legislative district with an election but could not participate in the primary that selected their next legislator.
Margaret Kobos, CEO and founder of Oklahoma United, is pushing for open primaries in the state.
Open primaries allow all voters to participate regardless of party affiliation. In Oklahoma, state law only allows parties to permit registered members to participate, along with independent voters if they so choose.
Only the state Democratic Party has its primaries available to independent voters.
According to Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Nathan Dahm, he doesn't want Democrats taking their ideas and inserting them into the Republican primary process.
Push for open primaries: Oklahoma United's fight to increase voter participation and choice
There's a few different types of elections: presidential, gubernatorial, even special.
But the start to any election is typically the primaries, the first look at the candidates.
In Oklahoma, there's two options to vote in the primary: registered Republicans or registered Democrats. You have to choose one or the other, or you can't vote.
Margaret Kobos, the CEO and Founder of Oklahoma United, has a problem with that.
"Oklahoma is last in the country in eligible voter participation and it has been for many years," Kobos said.
Oklahoma leaders advocate for open primaries at OKC panel discussion
Margaret Kobos, CEO and founder of Oklahoma United, is pushing for open primaries in the state.
Open primaries allow all voters to participate regardless of party affiliation. In Oklahoma, state law only allows parties to permit registered members to participate, along with independent voters if they so choose.
Only the state Democratic Party has its primaries available to independent voters.
According to Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Nathan Dahm, he doesn't want Democrats taking their ideas and inserting them into the Republican primary process.
Tulsa Mayor to share view on open primaries in Oklahoma at panel discussion Tuesday
“I think the top two vote-getters ought to go on, or something similar to what we have in Tulsa: If somebody gets over 50%, there is no runoff. That forces candidates to focus on representing a consensus of their citizens rather than appealing to one political party or another.”
Bynum, a Republican, said he believes switching to open primaries would benefit the state regardless of which party happens to control the levers of power at any particular time.
“I think it is important to point out, there is a Republican dominance right now (in Oklahoma), but we have had for a longer period of time in Oklahoma with Democratic dominance, and I think we would have benefited from this under either scenario,” Bynum said.
Oklahoma lawmakers propose changes to citizen-led petitions
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KFOR) — In a Senate Judiciary committee meeting Tuesday, lawmakers voted affirmatively for Senate Bill 518, pertaining to the state’s initiative petition process. If passed, the measure could additional requirements for citizen initiative petitions to reach a ballot.
Margaret Kobos, founder of OKUnited expressed concerns over SB 518 stating: “We’re just hearing a lot of people don’t feel like their voices matter. And when you have a Senate committee that is trying to dampen the voices of people, I just think you’re confirming their beliefs. And they will stay home and they won’t be engaged."
Oklahomans feel unheard due to the closed primary system
TULSA, OK (KOTV) — An Oklahoma group advocating for open primary elections hosted a burger night at McNellie's. Oklahoma United for Progress says 94% of Oklahoma elections are decided in the primary, and that's because Oklahoma primaries are closed.
Advocating for open primaries at both the statewide and national levels
TULSA, Okla. (Studio Blue at Public Radio Tulsa) — Question: How do closed primaries weaken our democracy? Answer: They produce elected officials who are more accountable to their party than their constituents, they restrict participation while also reinforcing division, and they exclude independent voters (who are the largest, fastest-growing sector of the US electorate).
Episode 18: We are out there for all Oklahomans!
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Sunday Morning Magazine with Martha Steele) — This week we have an extended conversation with representatives from two different organizations.
Margaret Kobos, founder and CEO of Oklahoma United for Progress
and Julie Knutson, CEO of The Oklahoma Academy and John Harper, board member of The Oklahoma Academy
Editorial: Election reforms could aid Oklahoma's suffering democracy
TULSA, Okla. (Tulsa World) —
It’s bad for Oklahoma that nearly 70% of the legislative races have already been decided. Several reasons have led to this lopsided representation, and most are solvable.
The state had the 10th lowest voter turnout in the 2018 midterm election and the nation’s lowest in the 2020 election.
Studies show that legislators running unopposed are less engaged with their constituents. Also, citizens are more likely to become alienated from processes that don’t provide choices.
Oklahoma’s closed primaries shuts out hundreds of thousands of voters, and straight-party voting gives power to political parties over candidates.
'Unmute Oklahoma' Campaign Works to Open Primaries To All Voters
TULSA, Okla. (News on 6) — Oklahoma is a closed primary state. That means in order to vote in a Republican runoff election, you must be a registered Republican.
One group is hoping to change that in an effort to get more voters to the polls.
Group Seeks to Allow Independents to Vote in Any Oklahoma Primary
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (The Oklahoman) — Margaret Kobos, founder of Oklahoma United for Progress, began the UnmuteOK campaign in an effort to promote potential legislation for an open primary system. To gain momentum, Kobos is trying to receive at least 5,000 signatures on an informal petition for future lobbying.
“You don't take tax money from a person and then exclude them from the public benefit — and that’s what we see happening with closed primaries,” Kobos said.
Finding Less Extreme Candidates
Tulsa, Okla. (Tulsa World) — With the primary election on Tuesday, it’s become clear Oklahoma’s mostly closed system produces more extreme candidates, particularly among the dominant Republican Party. Conservative candidates seek to out-conservative each other to the fringes to win the taxpayer-funded primary. This edges out candidates interested in more broad-based governing, prevents honest political discourse and focuses on divisive cultural issues. This system puts power in parties, not people. We are encouraged by the efforts of Unmute Oklahoma, which has an online petition to build support for changing the state primaries.
'Unmute Oklahoma' Creates Petition To Repeal Closed Primaries In The State
Tulsa, Okla. (KOTV) — The Oklahoma primary election is coming up on June 28th, and one organization is fighting for open primaries. Currently, Oklahoma has closed primaries, meaning people can only vote within their registered party. Those registered as "Independent" can only vote if one of the parties allows it. "Unmute Oklahoma" has created a petition to repeal closed primaries in Oklahoma. Click Here for more information or to sign the petition.
Fact Check: Group claims OK had lowest 2020 general election turnout in nation
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Did Oklahoma have the lowest eligible voter participation of any state in the November 2020 general election? That's what the group Oklahoma United for Progress is saying. But is it true? It turns out — according to data from the Pew Research Center — that the organization's claim is correct.
Unmute Oklahoma is a newly launched campaign aiming to repeal closed primaries in our state
TULSA, Okla. (Public Radio Tulsa) — Did you know that Democratic primaries in Oklahoma allow Independent voters to participate, but Republican primaries DON'T allow Independents to do so? And did you know that only about 55% of eligible voters in Oklahoma actually voted in the November 2020 election...and that this is the lowest voter-participation percentage nationwide? Our conversation on ST is about how to get more voters voting in the Sooner State, and our guest is Margaret Kobos, the founder of Oklahoma United for Progress. This organization is today (Thursday the 16th; here in Tulsa) launching a statewide campaign -- "a sort of road show," as Kobos puts it -- aimed at both generating awareness and gathering petition signatures in order to repeal closed primaries in Oklahoma. You can learn more about this campaign, and can sign the online petition, at unmuteok.org.
Should primaries be open to Independents?
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — "We want to improve voter participation in Oklahoma," said Margaret Kobos of Oklahoma United for Progress. When she saw the data on voter turnout in Oklahoma, she was not happy. "When we saw that Oklahoma is last in eligible voter participation every single cycle in the country, always last," she said. So to try to change that she's about to launch a campaign to open up primaries to Independents.
Open primaries will give voice to political middle
TULSA, Okla. (Tulsa World) --
We’re electing politicians with no incentive to govern. Our general election races are increasingly uncompetitive, and voters have no interest in meaningless elections. The real decisions are made in primary contests. In Oklahoma’s closed primary system, only the most partisan voters participate. To these voters, and these voters alone, our resulting politicians believe they’re accountable.
This closed loop produces a revolving door through which politicians are elected and re-elected by placating the most partisan voters, at the expense of the rest of us.
As a result of our closed system, Oklahoma has earned the honor of having the worst eligible voter turnout in the entire U.S. nearly every one of the last 20 years.
Most state and federal primary elections in the U.S. are divided up by political party, and many are only open to voters who are members of a party.
Reform-minded advocates and many political scientists say this system is not working. They say relatively small numbers of voters are selecting their nominee — often in a district or state that leans strongly toward one party, so whoever wins the primary cruises to victory in a general election.
The group Unite America underscores what it terms the "primary problem" with this finding: In 2020, "only 10% of eligible Americans nationwide cast ballots in primary elections that effectively decided the winners in a supermajority (83%) of Congressional seats."
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