Oklahomans Vote for Republican Sweep, Against Liberty

Last night while watching the results roll in, I sure was biting my nails on a couple of issues. In fact, there was one in particular that nearly every time 5-6 new precincts reported, it flipped back and forth. I'm used to most things being decided by 9PM, not midnight.

Anywho, I'm doing this post as a recap of the results of yesterday's elections, good and bad. Then, I'm taking a 2-3 week vacation. I find legal research to be a great pastime, but when you're doing that stuff 7 days a week for 3 months straight you feel it as your brain starts to rot. I'll probably make a post or two in the mean time, but right now the plan is to take a break.

Let's start with the race that got the most votes on a single side: State Question 744. Even as recently as June, it seemed that the general sentiment was that this was going to pass. The Yes on 744 campaign was doing a great job of showing how it was "for the children." But as the election got closer, the People of Oklahoma got wiser.

By October, the general sentiment had done a complete 180. Instead of a large majority supporting it, a large majority were opposing it. I think the turning point was when Gov. Brad Henry voiced his opposition. Early in the process, he had carefully crafted his words to not say whether he was for or against. However, I believe that everyone but those within his inner circle were surprised when he came out against it. Here we had a Governor that had billed himself as an education-at-all-costs guy and was presumed to be supportive of the measure, and then he comes out against it because the cost would be too much for the state to bear.

Oklahomans voted down SQ744 with a resounding NO: 189,127 yeas to 828,499 noes. In fact, I'm sure that there would have been many votes for "HELL NO" if that had been an option.

How about that race for Governor? I thought it would be closer. Most people I know were holding their nose on this one and choosing the lesser of two evils. Time will tell, but I think we indeed chose the lesser in Mary Fallin (R). I didn't expect a 60-40 win, much less that the race be decided at 25% reporting. I was looking for one that would at least take us past 10PM and somewhere close to 53-47.

I was very disappointed in the outcome in the State Treasurer race. While Stephen Covert (D) was not that great of a choice, I believe that the record of Ken Miller (R) as a legislator should have been considered by voters. The fact that the race was decided 67-33 just goes to show that exposure and recognition are two of the most important things for a candidate for political office.

The nailbiter that kept me up late was State Question 750. This measure theoretically lowers the number of signatures required for initiative petitions by tying them to the most recent Gubernatorial race rather than general election. Previously, the amount of signatures required would fluctuate greatly as more people tend to turn out for Presidential elections.

I noticed during the time leading up to the election that many emails were circulating that purported to be from former legislators. They were loaded with misinformation saying that the measure would "significantly reduce" the required signatures, resulting in groups like PETA passing laws through the ballot in Oklahoma. Because of the demonstrated lack of knowledge of how the process works, I don't believe the emails really originated from the people that they said they did.

Luckily, Oklahoma voters barely passed SQ750: 485,637 yeas to 477,988 noes, a difference of just 7,649 votes.

Sadly for third parties, State Question 748 passed. This measure was supposed to make the redistricting process more "fair" in the event that the legislature couldn't come to an agreement, but in reality it constitutionally limits the Apportionment Commission to only Democrats and Republicans. This means that if a Libertarian or Green Party member holds a seat in the legislature and the legislature can't agree on redistricting, then that member will have no chance at having any say in the process.

SQ748 passed 58-42 and further cemented the view that only two parties deserve recognition in America.

Oklahomans also voted to introduce an impediment to voting by requiring photo ID's with State Question 746. What many people have pointed to as a "loophole" of sorts that makes it not much different than we have today is that you can still cast a provisional ballot with only your free voter registration card. However, what they don't understand is that provisional ballots are not counted until the County Election Board completes an investigation verifying your identity.

And finally, while I knew it was going to pass, I still don't think that Oklahomans understand the effects of State Question 755.