By Fox23.com News Staff
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Office announced that State Question 836, which aimed to put a proposal for an open primary election system before Oklahoma voters this year, failed to meet the required number of valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
We have brought you extensive coverage of SQ 836, which proposed the placement of all candidates on a single primary ballot, with party registration listed, and would allow all registered voters to choose any single candidate in any contested race, regardless of partisan or unaffiliated choices.
The Vote Yes 836 campaign turned in more than 200,000 signatures on Jan. 26. The required threshold of valid signatures to qualify for the ballot was 172,993.
However, following weeks of review, the Secretary of State’s office reported that fewer than the required number of signatures were deemed valid.
Tony Stobbe, who is an independent-registered voter and retired U.S. Coast Guard Commander and Edmond resident, was one of the SQ 836 citizen petitioners.
“As a veteran, I believe in standing up for the right of every citizen to participate fully in our democracy,” Stobbe said. “This effort started important conversations across our communities about fairness, accountability, and making sure no one is shut out of the process. While we are disappointed with the announcement, this campaign has proven that hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans are looking for elections that permit full participation regardless of partisan identity and provide an opportunity for consensus. Too many voters feel hopeless and disenfranchised by our current election system. Over 500 volunteers collected signatures in winter storms and through the holidays because they believe all Oklahomans deserve a fair primary system that attracts more candidates to run for office, increases voter participation, and strengthens accountability. Their work has already produced a statewide recognition that our primary election system is broken.”
Organizers said the campaign will now evaluate available procedures to confirm all lawful petition signatures have been included.
Former Republican State Senator and State Question 836 advocate, A.J. Griffin, shared the following statement.
“Oklahomans, especially our young people, are ready to lead, not languish, and the voices and needs of all lawfully registered voters should drive policies funded by taxpayers. I view this citizen petition as a great success already: opening the eyes of many thousands of voters about how our election system has brought us disappointing results, and why we have to change it if we want to make the most of our statewide resources and talent. This conversation has made a big impact, and the issue will be made even more real when our closed June primary elections come,” Griffin said.
