Public Radio Tulsa Live @ Lunch featuring SQ 836

Watch on Public Radio Tulsa YouTube Channel

15 May 2025

By Elizabeth Caldwell, Public Radio Tulsa KWGS

TRANSCRIPT:

Elizabeth Caldwell:

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:27:05

Hey, everybody. My name is Elizabeth Caldwell. I'm the news director at Public Radio Tulsa. This is our noon newscast or our live at lunch. I'm here with our all Things Considered anchor, Ben Abrams. Come say hi. Hi, everyone. He's sort of my producer, but, today I want to talk about, a story on our website, public Radio tulsa.org.

00:00:27:07 - 00:00:55:04

Here, you can see it here. It's about a group that is advocating for open primaries. So an open primary is when anyone can vote for any party in a primary election, rather than being restricted to their own party affiliation. Right now in Oklahoma, independents can vote in Democratic primaries, but not in Republican ones. Republicans have closed primaries in Oklahoma.

00:00:55:07 - 00:01:29:03

And there's a group, under the banner of this, organization called Oklahoma United who wants to get a state question on the ballot. You probably know a state question is a direct democracy process. It's how Medicaid expansion was passed in Oklahoma and how medical marijuana was passed, and how recreational marijuana was defeated. And this question, the question in question 836 would ask whether people want to open up primaries in Oklahoma.

00:01:29:09 - 00:01:51:04

And you can see some reasons in the story on our website, public Radio tulsa.org for wanting open primaries. But a big one is that supporters say it stops more extreme candidates. And how they say that works is because candidates will need to have a broader appeal than to just their own base. And we had a supporter of state.

00:01:51:04 - 00:02:04:19

Question 836 into the studio. She's a retired public school teacher. Her name is Ros Elder. And here she is explaining how, open primaries would stop more extreme candidates.

00:02:04:19 - 00:02:26:29

Ros Elder:

So you're handed this whole ballot, and the people whose names are on that ballot have to appeal to all voters, not just the very few that they know that are going to end up voting for them. So they're going to have to start to listen to somebody besides a very small group of their own supporters.

00:02:27:02 - 00:02:51:29

Elizabeth Caldwell:

So one question I had for Ros when she was here was in Ruby Red, Oklahoma. Do you really think Republicans will vote for a Democrat, even if their primaries were open? And Ros said, supporters of this question say, yes, that could happen, especially as we see cuts to things like public entitlements like Medicaid that Republicans are going for.

00:02:52:01 - 00:03:17:27

Elizabeth Caldwell:

If people are drastically affected by a certain party's platform, they might vote for a candidate on the other side of the issue, and they should at least have the opportunity regardless to vote for whoever they want. And these supporters of state question 836 are going all over the state. And Ros Elder had a Sophia Petrillo moment when she explained how it all started.

00:03:17:29 - 00:03:46:11

Ros Elder:

Picture this. I'm in a wonderful hamburger place downtown Tulsa, and there's a big group of us that are initially interested in this. Here I am seated at a table with a Democrat, a Republican, and myself an independent. We are not discussing partisan policy issues at all. We are simply discussing together and in agreement that voting in the state of Oklahoma absolutely must change.

00:03:46:13 - 00:03:58:23

Ros Elder:

That's just the beginning of it. From there, all of us in all of these, you know, libertarians, you name it, we are out there recognizing that this needs to change.

00:03:58:26 - 00:04:26:15

Elizabeth Caldwell:

But there is a catch. So just as this state question is gaining, gaining steam, according to advocates, lawmakers are pushing through a measure that will hamper getting state questions all state questions out to people. And according to advocates like Ros, the most worrying part of this legislation, which is Senate Bill 1027, is that it limits signature gathering efforts in Oklahoma's most populated cities,

00:04:26:15 - 00:04:48:02

Elizabeth Caldwell:

Tulsa and Oklahoma City. So to get a state question on the ballot, you need a certain number of signatures from everyday folks who say they would like a chance to vote on the issue that's being presented in the state question. So this proposed law, 1027 says that signatures must be collected from rural areas to a certain extent as well.

00:04:48:04 - 00:05:14:14

Elizabeth Caldwell:

The lawmakers who got that bill going say that's only fair. You can't collect a bunch of signatures from Tulsa and Oklahoma City and call that good. You need to represent urban interests as well. Even though half of the state lives in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. But Ros Elder said Oklahoma United is going to get this state question on the ballot regardless, even if 1027 becomes law.

00:05:14:21 - 00:05:21:29

Elizabeth Caldwell:

And she said they’re shooting for 2026 for this state question. So we will keep you updated on that.