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Short: SQ 836 is the key to fair elections and voter participation


31 January 2025

The Journal Record


As an investment advisor for over 30 years, I’ve seen firsthand how financial literacy can transform lives. People with poor finances and bad credit feel like they don’t count. When people understand how to manage their money, build credit, and invest in their future, they gain confidence, take ownership of their decisions, and feel empowered.


Civic literacy is a lot like financial literacy. People who don’t vote and don’t participate in civic life are often sitting on the sidelines because they feel like their votes and their voices do not count. This sense of helplessness creates a self-fulfilling cycle: when you don’t participate in our politics, you are politically powerless.


Oklahoma has the fifth lowest ranking for personal credit scores in the country and the worst voter participation rates in the nation, so there are clearly a lot of Oklahomans who feel powerless. Financial literacy can help boost those credit scores, but increasing voter participation will require changing our state’s Constitution.


Currently, Oklahoma’s constitutionally mandated closed primary system intentionally excludes hundreds of thousands of voters—especially independents—from participating in elections. Our primary elections, despite being taxpayer funded, are insider-games meant for party activists, not average citizens. In many cases, significantly less than ten percent of eligible Oklahomans cast a vote in primaries and primary run-offs. Meanwhile, our November elections (which about half of Oklahomans participate in) are generally uncompetitive, trivial affairs. In fact, eighty-six percent of Oklahoma’s federal, state and county offices either had no general election or a general election that was rendered meaningless because there were not two major party candidates on the ballot.


This is a recipe for apathy and resentment. If an independent voter cannot participate in a primary election, and cannot cast a meaningful vote in November, they have been effectively disenfranchised. Adding insult to injury, their taxpayer dollars are funding the primary elections they have been excluded from – the modern incarnation of taxation without representation.


State Question 836, a new ballot initiative, proposes to fix this by putting every candidate in every party (or no party) on one primary election ballot. Every voter, regardless of party, can then cast a vote in that primary election. The top-two vote-getters then move onto a November general election ballot. In this way, every voter can vote in every election, and every election is meaningful. This will put power back in the hands of the people and help to restore confidence in our government and our political processes as well as personal ownership in the outcomes.


For me, fixing the exclusionary nature of our democracy isn’t just about abstract principle—it’s personal. My parents were proud Republicans who served as party delegates in the 1950s and 1960s. They helped craft the party platform during President Eisenhower’s tenure and Barry Goldwater’s campaign. They were deeply committed to the values and ideas of the conservative movement. They believed that the best way for the Republican Party to win and keep power was by communicating those ideas effectively and persuasively to voters.


Today, it saddens me to see a few Republican Party leaders taking a different approach, arguing that the best way to win is to limit voter participation through a closed primary system. This strategy might secure short-term victories, but it undermines the foundation of our democracy and ultimately harms the GOP. By shutting out independents and other voters, the party insulates itself from valuable feedback from the citizens it is supposed to serve.


I am urging Oklahomans of all parties to ignore the naysayers and support SQ 836 so we can build an election system that works for everyone. Just as financial literacy helps people take control of their futures, political inclusion can help Oklahoma break free from the cycles of disengagement and disempowerment that hold us back.


We can no longer afford to have one of the worst voter turnout rates in the nation. We need to engage more voters, hear more voices, and build a system that represents all Oklahomans. SQ 836 is a critical step toward achieving that goal.


I’m proud to stand in support of this initiative, and I encourage every Oklahoman to do the same. Together, we can create a fairer, more inclusive democracy—one where every voice truly counts.


Louise Short recently retired from a 37-year career as an independent registered investment advisor.


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