Join the club

13 December 2025

Op-ed by Tony Choate, published in The Ardmoreite

When friends tell me they need to eat healthier, exercise more, or become more involved in the community, my response is often “join the club,” because everyone knows that misery loves company.

On the other hand, joining an elite club is a sign of success for many Americans, who may pay as much as $50,000 to join and $10,000 per year in membership dues. Many Americans dream of joining one of those exclusive clubs which offer numerous benefits available only to members of the club.

There are also tens of thousands of clubs in America that are more inclusive. In 1776, our founders made the extremely difficult decision to form an entirely new government in response to “a long train of abuses.”

In essence, our founders created a new club called America that began with the Declaration

of Independence, evolved through the Articles of Confederation, and the US Constitution.

While only White men who owned property were allowed to vote in the early years of our Republic, the Constitution was amended to include women, blacks and other minorities.

While the club is now open to a vast majority of American citizens, many choose not to participate.

Oklahoma, for example, has one of the lowest voter participation rates in the US, which led to 13 general elections for Oklahoma State Senate being canceled in 2024. In addition, more than 70 general elections for 101 Oklahoma House seats were canceled in 2024, according to Ballotpedia.

In many cases, there was no primary election or general election, meaning many of those

holding office were not elected by voters but appointed by Party leaders.

While there are a number of reasons for the decline in participation, the closed primary system of selecting candidates in Oklahoma is a major contributor to the problem.

In the closed primary system, only Republicans are allowed to vote in Republican primaries and only Democrats are allowed to vote in Democratic primary elections.

This system limits the voice of Republicans and Democrats alike. Perhaps even more troubling is the fact that this system virtually silences the voice of Independents, who are not allowed to vote in Republican primaries or Democratic primaries without special permission from the Democratic Party.

Primary elections where only members of a certain political party can vote silences the voices

of many potential voters. Beyond that, the closed primary system drives politicians to put forward extreme views to attract the base of their party.

When voters hear only voices from candidates on the extreme right or the extreme left, it

discourages people with more moderate, nuanced views from getting involved in politics.

In Oklahoma, we have a chance to start moving away from extremism by changing to an open primary system where everyone is allowed to vote, regardless of political party.

In this system, the two candidates who receive who receive the most votes, regardless of political party, will compete for office.

Oklahomans are circulating an initiative petition for State Question 836, which would open up the election primary system to all voters.

“The initiative would establish open primaries for statewide and county offices, district attorney, state legislators, and congressional candidates, where candidates for an office appear on one ballot regardless of party with top-two vote-getters moving forward to the

general election,” according to Ballotpedia.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt expressed his approval in a Facebook post.

“Signing and ultimately voting for SQ 836 is a no-brainer unless someone is at the far edges of the ideological spectrum, a place very few people actually are,” wrote Holt, who added, “We run our OKC elections much like the way proposed in SQ 836 and our electoral system is the most important reason why OKC has effective government that brings people together and gets results. SQ 836 gives all Oklahomans a chance to enjoy that same success.”

Since many of the officials holding office under the current system are reluctant to make changes, we the people must take the lead.

Thousands of Oklahomans have signed the initiative petition to change to an open primary system leading to more effective government. Join the club.