Opinion: In Oklahoma, the ‘real’ elections have already happened

https://tulsaworld.com/opinion/column/opinion-in-oklahoma-the-real-elections-have-already-happened/article_6149bcfa-64d9-11ef-9fe9-f78467f77a9f.html Margaret Kobos Aug 29, 2024 Updated Aug 31, 2024 

Political attention may be on the presidential election on Nov. 5, but Oklahomans have largely wrapped up the business of selecting the majority of our state and local officials.

That’s because in Oklahoma’s closed primary system, the important elections — where officials are chosen who make policies concerning education, transportation and public safety — happen in June and August. By the time the November election occurs, there are very few meaningful decisions left for Oklahomans to make.

Of the 127 state legislative seats up for grabs this year, 85 (more than two-thirds) were filled in a partisan primary in June or August. The numbers for sheriff are stunning — 71 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties will either select a sheriff in a primary election or rubber stamp an unopposed candidate. Even when candidates for offices like state Legislature appear on a November ballot, the vast majority of these contests are lopsided affairs coronating the winner of whichever major party dominates a particular district.

 This means the elections that matter are primary elections. In Oklahoma’s closed primary system, independents are completely locked out of Republican primaries and are allowed to participate in Democratic primaries only at the discretion of the party.

This means Oklahoma’s fastest growing voting population, more than 20% of our electorate, is effectively disenfranchised from the most important elections, even though partisan primaries are funded with all our tax dollars.

Similarly, Republicans living in areas dominated by Democrats and Democrats living in heavily Republican areas are denied the chance to cast a meaningful vote and have limited ballot choices. The real contest occurs during a partisan primary they are outright disenfranchised from.

This system serves no one. Why does this all matter?

Because our current system of closed primaries is feeding discontent and disconnection between the people and decisions that control everything in our lives: our utility bills, school lunches and highways. Only about 1-in-5 voting age Oklahomans participate in primary elections, meaning a small minority of partisans dictate who our state legislators, sheriffs and other office holders are.

More voters show up in the November election, but many people have taken notice of how meaningless these contests are and have chosen not to participate. In 2022, Oklahoma ranked 50th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for voter turnout.

A healthy democracy is defined by an engaged electorate and elected officials who feel beholden to a majority of their constituents. Oklahoma has neither, and the culprit is our closed primary system.

The antidote to our current democratic disengagement is to give all lawfully registered voters the ability to participate in the primaries they are already funding.

Opening our primaries, as 38 other states already have done in some form, is a commonsense approach that will encourage voter participation, bring more choices and freedom to all voters, broaden accountability and make our elections meaningful.

At OKUnited, we are specifically advocating for a type of election system known as unified primary.

In this system, all candidates, regardless of party, run on one primary ballot with their party affiliation listed by their name. All registered voters, regardless of their party, then vote for the person they like best, no matter how the voter or the candidate is registered.

The two candidates receiving the most votes, regardless of party affiliation, move to the general election in November.

In this type of system, every citizen in Oklahoma has a chance to vote for their elected officials, regardless of their party registration. Every taxpayer can participate in the elections they help to fund. And every elected official has received the support of a majority of the voting public in their district.

Will moving to a system of open primaries solve every imperfection in our politics? Of course not. But the best way to assure voters that their votes matter is to reform the system so they actually do.