Ballot access requirements for political parties in Oklahoma

in Oklahoma

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Note: This article is not intended to serve as an exhaustive guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.

Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Oklahoma, see this article.

See state election laws

Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

Seal of Oklahoma

See statutes: Title 26, Chapter 1 of the Oklahoma Code

Gaining status

The first step in forming a new political party in Oklahoma is to file a "notice of intent" form with the Oklahoma State Election Board. This form can be filed at any time except between March 1 and November 15 of even-numbered years.^[1]

Once the notice of intent form is filed, the new political party must circulate a qualifying petition to collect signatures from registered voters equaling at least 3 percent of the total number of votes cast in the last general election for governor or president. The qualifying petition can be circulated for up to one year after a notice of intent is filed, but it cannot be circulated between March 1 and November 15 of any even-numbered year. To qualify as a political party in time to access the ballot in an election year, the petition must be filed by March 1 of that year. If the Oklahoma State Election Board finds that the qualifying petition contains a sufficient number of valid signatures, the political party will be officially recognized by the state. An officially recognized political party may nominate candidates via primary election.^[1][2][3][4]

Maintaining status

To maintain recognized status, a political party's candidate for governor or president in a general election must have received at least 2.5 percent of the vote in either of the last two general elections. If a party fails to meet this requirement, the party will cease to be recognized by the state. A political party that has lost its recognition is considered a "political organization." In order to be recognized again, the political organization must re-qualify by following the procedures described above. A political organization designation may last for only four years or until the organization re-qualifies as a political party.^[5]

Political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of May 2024, the state of Oklahoma officially recognized three political parties. ^[6]

Noteworthy events

2018

On April 26, 2018, the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 77-3 to approve SB 350, which established new requirements for political parties to retain recognized status. Under previous law, a political party's candidate for statewide office needed to win at least 2.5 percent of the total votes cast that office in each general election in order for the party to retain recognized status. SB 350 amended this requirement, providing that a candidate for statewide office must to win at least 2.5 percent of the total votes cast for that office in either of the two most recent general elections in order the party to retain recognition. The bill originated in the Oklahoma State Senate, where it was approved by a vote of 41-3. The bill was signed into law by Governor Mary Fallin (R) on May 3, 2018.^[7][8][9]

2015

On May 12, 2015, Governor Mary Fallin (R) signed into law a bill that reduced the petition signature requirement for newly-qualifying political parties to 3 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the last general election. Prior to the bill's enactment, newly-qualifying political parties were required to submit signatures equaling at least 5 percent of the total number of votes for governor.^[3][4]

University of Oklahoma political science professor Keith Gaddie criticized the legislation, saying, "[The bill is] reform in the sense that they cut the threshold, but it’s not real reform. It ain’t much. If my cholesterol was 400 and I did everything the doc asked and I got it down to 300, it’s still high. There’s no good reason to have such restrictive ballot access."^[10]

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See also

• Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Oklahoma
• Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Oklahoma
• List of political parties in the United States
• Democratic Party of Oklahoma
• Libertarian Party of Oklahoma
• Republican Party of Oklahoma

External links

• Oklahoma Democratic Party
• Libertarian Party of Oklahoma
• Oklahoma Republican Party

Footnotes

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