11th December 2024
By AJ Griffin, published in The Oklahoma Gazette
I’m a lifelong Oklahoman and a former educator. I also had the privilege of serving in our State Senate for six years. I believed then and now that people should always come before politics. Unfortunately, I had a front-row seat to how our current election system is failing voters. In fact, our closed primary system actively discourages voter participation instead of encouraging a democratic process that is truly of the people, by the people and for the people.
Oklahoma’s closed partisan primaries have transformed our politics from a system that represents the priorities and concerns of a majority of voters into an insider’s game defined by minority rule. That’s because our November elections, in which most voters participate, have been rendered all but meaningless.
Why are November elections meaningless? Consider this: In 2024, the winners of 86 percent of Oklahoma’s elections for federal, state and county offices were either decided on filing day (because a candidate ran unopposed), determined in a closed partisan primary in June or August or did not have two major parties represented in a general election. That means only 14 percent of November elections featured a Republican and a Democrat, and the vast majority of those contests were lopsided affairs.
Primary elections, in which 5 to 10 percent of voters usually participate, have become the only elections that matter. Hundreds of thousands of voters are left disenfranchised by this system and literally unable to cast a vote for or against their elected officials. It is particularly unfair to independent voters, who number almost half a million and represent 1 in 5 voters. Adding insult to injury, these excluded voters fund these partisan elections with their tax dollars.
That’s why I’m supporting State Question 835, which would open our primary elections to every single Oklahoman, regardless of party affiliation. If the effort is successful, open primaries will replace the current closed primary system in which the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties hold taxpayer-funded partisan elections for their own members.
State Question 835 offers a better way. In the open primary system it proposes, every candidate will appear on a single ballot with their party affiliation. But every voter — Democrat, Republican or independent — can cast a vote. A voter can support the candidate of their choice, regardless of the party they chose to associate with.
Voters get to see all of the candidates, and candidates must face all of the voters.
No more gatekeeping. No more excluding taxpayers from the elections they fund.
Open primaries will also foster better government. When candidates must appeal to all voters, not just a single party’s base, they are more accountable. They must listen to different views and seek common ground. By reforming this system, we can ensure that politicians focus on the needs and priorities of the entire community, not just the interests of their own political party.
As a believer in the power of a free market, I know that competition is good. Locking a voter out of an election limits competition and stifles debate over ideas.
Our democracy is strongest when all voices are heard. State Question 835 will help to reinvigorate Oklahoma’s representative democracy, giving all voters a real opportunity to shape their own political representation.
By voting “yes” on State Question 835, we can end taxation without representation, improve voter turnout and build a system that works for all of us. Let’s give every Oklahoman a chance to participate.
It’s time to end closed primaries and give all voters the freedom to vote.
Let’s make history together by voting Yes on State Question 835 and creating a fair election process for all.
AJ Griffin, Ed.D., is the President and CEO of the Potts Family Foundation. Prior to her current role, she served in the Oklahoma State Senate for six years, where she was a member of senate leadership and was recognized for improving policies related to juvenile justice, child welfare, healthcare, and criminal justice reform.
