Open primary state question fails; officials note invalid signatures

State Question 836, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have created an open primary system in Oklahoma, has failed to qualify for the ballot after falling short of the required number of valid signatures. 

The Vote Yes 836 campaign submitted more than 200,000 signatures in late January, but after review, election officials determined that fewer than the required threshold of 172,993 valid signatures were collected. 

SQ 836 proposed putting every candidate on a single primary ballot with their party registration listed, allowing registered voters to choose any single candidate in any contested race regardless of their affiliation. The two highest vote-getters would have moved forward to the general election.

Oklahoma SQ 836 to allow open primaries will not appear on ballots