LET ALL
VOTERS VOTE
When passed, State Question 835 will end Oklahoma's closed, exclusionary partisan primaries and replace them with open primaries. In the open primary system proposed by SQ 835, all voters – regardless of party – would be able to vote in a single primary election in which all candidates appeared on one ballot along with their party registration. The top two vote-getters would move onto a general election. Click here to learn more and see an annotated copy of State Question 835.
WHY DO WE NEED REFORM?
Our current primary system is broken.
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Partisan primaries guarantee meaningless November elections in which the vast majority of all elected offices have already been filled in primaries or run-offs.
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Partisan primaries disenfranchise voters by barring them (especially independents) from participation in primaries, even though their tax dollars fund those elections
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Partisan primaries discourage voter turnout – Oklahoma is dead last in the nation when it comes to voter participation.
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Every voter can vote in every election. No voter is barred from participating in an election their tax dollars pay for.
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Voters are free to choose the candidate they believe is best suited for the job, regardless of party.
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Candidates are incentivized to appeal to all voters, not just the small minority that participate in our current closed primary elections.
UNDER AN OPEN PRIMARY SYSTEM:
50th
Oklahoma was dead last in the nation for voter turnout in November 2020 and 2024.
86%
Eighty-six percent of Oklahoma’s federal, state and county offices either had no general election or a general election that was rendered meaningless because there were not two major party candidates on the ballot.
20%
One in five (over 480,000) Oklahoma voters is not affiliated with a political party. These independent voters are unable to participate in the elections that matter the most: primary and primary run-offs.
6
In 2024, only six of the 77 county sheriff posts were contested by members of both major parties. That means that in 71 counties, significant percentages of voters did not have a say in who their sheriff will be.
