Secretary of State Announces Signature Count for State Question 836

The Oklahoma Secretary of State’s office today announced a finding that State Question 836 did not meet the required threshold of 172,993 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

The Vote Yes 836 campaign turned in more than 200,000 signatures on January 26after a statewide, volunteer-driven effort conducted during challenging winter conditions.Following several weeks of review, the Secretary of State’s office reported that fewer than the required number were deemed valid.

Tony Stobbe, an independent-registered voter and retired U.S. Coast GuardCommander and Edmond resident is one of the SQ 836 citizen petitioners. 

“As a veteran, I believe in standing up for the right of every citizen to participate fully inour 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,”said Stobbe. “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 thanked the volunteers and supporters who made the effort possible.  The campaign will now evaluate available procedures to confirm all lawful citizen petition signatures have been included. Overall goals remain to enhance citizen input in government, continue building discussions about strengthening voter participation, and create accountability to all voters in Oklahoma’s election system.

Former Republican State Senator and State Question 836 advocate, A.J. Griffin, noted that the open primary citizen petition process has ignited statewide conversations about nonpartisan solutions to obstacles impeding Oklahoma in all areas.

“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.”

Kerri Keck, a Democrat and Oklahoma National Guard veteran who volunteered to collect signatures, said the outreach process revealed deep and broad interest in reform.

“We met thousands of voters who are tired of status quo and want a greater voice in choosing their leaders,” Keck said. “The level of support we saw shows that Oklahomans are ready to rethink how we run our elections.”

Ken Setter, a registered Republican, retired Tulsa pediatrician, and one of the State Question 836 petitioners, emphasized the bipartisan nature of the coalition behind the initiative.

“This campaign brought together Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and independents who agree that more participation and more competition for office make for better government,” Setter said. “The fact that so many people were willing to sign and volunteer tells me this issue isn’t going away.”

State Question 836 has proposed 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.