OKLAHOMA CITY – A proposal to open Oklahoma primaries is drawing criticism.

Earlier this week, supporters announced State Question 835 that seeks to obtain 172,993 signatures to get the issue on the November 2026 ballot.

Under the proposal, Oklahoma primaries would be open to all voters with the top two vote getters advancing to the general election.

Supporters said they expect a challenge to the measure.

Gov. Kevin Stitt on social media voiced his opposition.

“Oklahomans made decisions at the polls that these third party groups don’t like – so now they want to upend the way we run our elections,” Stitt said. “Open primaries are a hard no in Oklahoma.”

Likewise, Lt. Gov Matt Pinnell, former Oklahoma Republican Party chairman, opposes the proposal.

“At best, the push to mandate open primaries is a solution in search of a problem, and at worst, it is a thinly veiled attempt to weaken Republican voters in choosing the nominees to represent our party,” Pinnell said. “Oklahoma is a conservative state, and Republicans hold all the statewide and federally elected positions and super majorities in the Legislature for a simple reason: our values and principles represent the will of our state voters.”

But not all Republicans have panned the idea.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, a former Republican state senator, embraced it.

He said the system in which a mayor is elected allows all residents to vote.

“Our voters get to see all the candidates and our candidates have to face all voters,” Holt said. “As a result, our leadership delivers unity and consensus outcomes that are clearly moving us forward.”

The state question is being backed by Oklahoma United, a nonpartisan organization that says the change will increase voter participation, reduce polarization and force candidates to be responsive to all voters. It will also benefit independent voters, who can’t vote in Republican or Libertarian primaries. Democrats currently allow independents to vote in their primaries.

The idea is not new.

In 2017, the Oklahoma Academy recommended a top-two election system. Its report said a top-two system could increase turnout, reduce partisanship and “eliminate fringe special interest involvement in campaigns because candidates would be forced to respond to more moderate, general voters rather than play to the extremes of either party.”

The Oklahoma Academy is a nonpartisan group that works to educate Oklahomans about public policy.

Republican political consultant Fount Holland said he doubted Oklahoma voters would approve the proposal should it make the ballot.

“At the end of the day, it is about moderating the Republican primary,” Holland said.

He said the Republican Party takes things to the extreme, which is not the best way to govern.

Holland said no one enters the Republican primary as a moderate or very few can survive campaigning as a moderate.

“They might be moderate, but they don’t campaign that way,” Holland said.

He said he tells his clients to run to win.

If approved, the measure would be advantageous to Democrats or people who want a more moderate group of elected officials, Holland said.

Republican Superintendent Ryan Walters is considered by many to be ultra-conservative, while his predecessor Joy Hofmeister was considered a moderate member of the GOP, said Holland, who worked on her two successful races for superintendent. 

Walters has focussed on putting Bibles in the classroom and removing some books from schools, while Hofmeister prioritized across-the-board teacher pay increases and boosting counseling services in schools.

Hofmeister ultimately switched parties and made an unsuccessful run as a Democrat for governor.

“If you hate politics the way they are, then you need to be on our team, because we want to change it and we want to make it better,” said Margaret Kobos, Oklahoma United CEO and Founder.

She was asked about the partisan reaction to the proposal.

She said it misses the point because the issue is about people and not political parties.

Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City, supports the measure, saying it takes power away from the political parties and gives it to the people.

“Every voter. Every election,” he said. “That is the way democracy is supposed to work.”