Sixthirtyone

Issue date: 1/20/10 Section: News

"You can't vote for your choice of candidates in Oklahoma."

So stated Angelia O'Dell, Chair of Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform (OBAR). Oklahoma State Law is specifically designed by the two major political parties to keep third parties off the ballot and out of the picture," she continued, emphasizing her words with the impatient tap of a pencil on the tabletop.

Prior to 1974, a new political party could be recognized by the Oklahoma Election Board by petitioning the state and then collecting 5,000 valid signatures from registered voters. In 1974, however, the legislature changed the rules. Now, new parties must gather signatures based on the percentage of people who voted in the last general election for Governor or President. At times this has meant as many as 100,000 signatures being required. As a result, in 2008, Oklahomans could only choose between two candidates for President, fewer than any other state. Choices in other Oklahoma races were similarly limited. Meanwhile, citizens in Iraq are able to choose from well over a dozen parties for their president and legislature.

"Sad to think that Iraq has more political freedom than Oklahoma," commented O'Dell. While other citizens of other states could choose from Nader, Barr, Baldwin, McKinney, Keyes or Paul, Oklahoma's wall kept the candidates out, and Oklahoma voters were denied.

To change this situation, OBAR is supporting HB1072, introduced last year by Rep. Charles Key (R-Bethany). Key's bill originally called for a return to the 5,000 signature requirement. After being modified in committee, it advanced to a floor vote where it passed the State House 86 to 5. In the State Senate, the bill was further modified and passed a floor vote by 46 to 0. After that it stalled in conference.

"Fortunately," O'Dell said, "HB1072 still has a heartbeat; it still lives. But we need citizens to help put it back on its feet and get it moving forward again. We're especially looking to our state's young voters for their help because if this bill fails, those young voters will live under the burdens of this repressive law for a long, long time."

Clark Duffe, Oklahoma Libertarian Party Vice-Chair and an active member of OBAR, agrees with O'Dell's assessment. "It's a matter of giving voters real options," Duffe said. "Last year, lots of people said they weren't happy with either Obama or McCain as candidates - image another choice. Or two or three. It would at least have opened up the debate to include genuinely conservative fiscal views instead of only the moderate left, far left idiocy we had."

OBAR's Green Party representative, Micah Gamino, also agrees. "Environmental issues could have had a real, vigorous champion in the 2008 Congressional races, instead of a couple of big party candidates trying to 'out-conservative' each other." Green Party candidates might have introduced and debated about environmental economics, nonviolence, sustainability, and the future generations.

For more info, contact Richard Prawdzienski at prawdz@aol.com.

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