Supporters of a proposed Oklahoma ballot initiative that would change the state’s primary system are allowed to begin collecting voter signatures later this month. The effort seeks to qualify State Question 836 for the 2026 ballot.
The Vote Yes 836 campaign said in an October 15 press release that the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s office assigned October 29 as the official start date for it to begin collecting signatures. The proposal would amend the Oklahoma Constitution to replace party primaries for statewide, legislative, congressional, county, and district attorney races with a top-two system. Under current law, only registered party members may vote in their party’s primary unless a party opts to allow independents to participate, with winners advancing to the general election.
If approved, all candidates for a given office would appear together on the same primary ballot, regardless of party affiliation, and any registered voter could participate. Each voter would be allowed one vote in that race, with the top two candidates, again regardless of affiliation, advancing to the general election. The measure would also require that candidates list their current affiliation on the ballot, accompanied by a disclaimer clarifying that such registration does not indicate party nomination or endorsement.
If only two candidates file for a single position, they would automatically advance to the November general election without a primary. Presidential electors are excluded from the new system and would continue to be nominated by political parties or by petition.
“The effort to bring open primaries to Oklahoma has been building momentum for months,” said Dr. Kenneth Setter, a retired Tulsa pediatrician and one of three petitioners listed on the original filing with the Secretary of State. “We have hundreds of volunteers and signature gatherers across Oklahoma who are ready to get to work. The public response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re excited to get out to every corner of the state and make sure every voter has a chance to sign.”
The campaign will have 90 days from October 29 to collect 172,993 valid signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the November 2026 general election ballot. While no petitioning events are currently listed on the Vote Yes 836 website, organizers said additional details would be released closer to the official start date.
Editorial note: the original article headline referred to the system as an “open primary;” however, this has been amended to “top-two primary system” for accuracy.
Libertarians and all in (and outside of) Oklahoma who favor fair electoral systems — such as ranked choice voting — need to organize opposition to the signature campaign (e.g, “Preserve Our Ballot Choices! Don’t Sign 836 Petition!”) and opposition to the initiative (e.g., “Preserve Our Ballot Choices! No on 836!”) if it receives enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.
Thanks!
Hey Richard, fair call-out, and an oversight on my part. I should’ve known better, especially having only lived in closed and semi-closed primary states, lol. Appreciate it!
I wish you would change the title of this blog post. The Oklahoma initiative is not to establish open primaries. “Open primary” has been defined in several US Supreme Court opinions and in political science textbooks as a system in which parties have nominees and their own primaries, but any voter is free to choose any party’s primary vote. By contrast, the Oklahoma initiative abolishes party primaries and party nominees. The initiative is for a top-two system. Just because the top-two proponents misuse correct vocabulary is no reason for this website to do the same.