The question asked whether Oklahoma voters would like to switch from closed to open primary elections, meaning the races would not be separated by party affiliation. Instead, all voters would cast ballots in a single primary, and the top two candidates would advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
The initiative petition began gathering signatures in late October. Organizers were tasked with collecting nearly 173,000 signatures in support of their cause for the question to appear on the ballot, which was determined by calculating 8% of voters who participated in Oklahoma's last gubernatorial election.
Although the organizers behind State Question 836 handed in more than 200,000 signatures, the official count found tens of thousands of those were invalid.
The question has drawn the support of some prominent Oklahoma politicians like Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt. He told KOSU last fall that he feels open primaries would allow a larger array of viewpoints to be represented in state government.
"We in Oklahoma City have an electoral system that is almost identical to what is being proposed in State Question 836," Holt said. "And we have, like, the most dynamic and effective and trusted and unifying government, not only in the state of Oklahoma, but maybe on a national level."
But the question drew criticism from some conservatives, who said it would lead to situations where the general election had two liberal candidates because conservative votes would be split among the higher number of Republican candidates in primary elections. Over 100 state lawmakers signed a letter earlier this year signaling their opposition.
"SQ 836 will produce absurd outcomes in defiance of voter preferences," the letter said. "Had SQ 836 been in place in 2018, Oklahomans would have had to choose between two Democrats for governor that November, because the Republican vote was split among 10 candidates in the primary. Thus, even though 452,606 Oklahomans cast a vote for a Republican gubernatorial candidate compared to just 395,494 for a Democrat, the 2018 general election would have involved only two Democratic candidates."
Supporters of State Question 836 said it would guarantee Independent voters a voice in state primary elections. Independents have been able to vote in Democratic primaries for the past decade, but that won't be the case in this year's primaries. Despite its stated intentions, the Oklahoma Democratic Party failed to file the necessary paperwork with the State Election Board to open its primaries for 2026 and 2027.
Republican former state lawmaker AJ Griffin has championed State Question 836 throughout the signature gathering period. She said in a statement that she sees it as a "great success already," despite its failure to appear before voters.
"The conversation has made a big impact, and the issue will be made even more real when our closed June primary elections come," Griffin said.
