Monthly Archives: May 2013

John Kerry Needs To Direct His Anger At The United States

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At Least Oklahoma Is In Good CompanyIran is currently in the process of preparing for its Presidential Elections later this year. Part of that process is the declaration of candidacy of many people who want a shot at leading the country. Unfortunately for many of those potential candidates, Iran’s current regime is culling the rolls of any candidates that do not support the current regime. This includes at least one former President. So far hundreds of potential candidates have been disqualified. In response to this culling of the rolls, US Secretary of State John Kerry has lambasted Iran, saying the following:

“The Council narrowed a list of almost seven hundred potential candidates down to the sort of…officials of their choice, based solely on who represents the regime’s interests,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters during a visit to Israel.

“That is hardly an election by standards which most people in most countries judge free, fair, open, accessible, accountable elections.”

What is that saying about glass houses and throwing stones? I think Kerry needs to redirect some of that anger and frustration back at home. Everything that Kerry is accusing Iran’s regime of doing, the United States is just as guilty. Kerry complains of an unelected body deciding who is allowed to run in the Presidential elections based on their support of the current regime. The US also has one such body, the Commission on Presidential Debates. This body was founded by and is currently run by Republicans and Democrats and operates with the goal to only allow Republican and Democratic candidates on televised debates. Its rules for invitations to the debates are set up in such a way that no alternative candidates are allowed to participate. Continue reading →

Oklahoma Had The Third Lowest Voter Turnout Of All States In 2012

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The US Census Bureau has released demographic data for the 2012 Federal Election. The numbers don’t speak well of Oklahoma. Of all 50 states and DC, Oklahoma ranks 49th in voter turnout of eligible voters. Only Hawaii and West Virginia had lower turnout rates.

From the Tulsa World report, here are the most interesting Oklahoma statistics:

The 52.4 percent 2012 voting rate in Oklahoma beat only Hawaii and West Virginia and was 6.3 percent worse than in the 2008 presidential election.

In Oklahoma, voting rates among age groups declined in all categories with the exception of 65- to 74-year-olds compared to 2008.

Oklahoma voters in the 65 to 74 age group increased 68.1 percent to 80.7 percent.

About one in four, or 27 percent, of Oklahomans age 18 to 24 cast ballots in the 2012 presidential election.

About 41 percent of those aged 18 to 24 cast ballots in the 2008 presidential election.

Oklahoma ranks 42nd among states in the percentage of eligible voters who are registered, with 66.1 percent on the rolls.

The report also found a decline in the percentage of eligible Oklahomans who were registered to vote since 2008.

The percent of the citizenry that were registered to vote declined from 70.1 percent in 2008 to 66.1 percent in 2012.

These are some serious declines. While members of the Democratic Party and Democratic organizations blamed voter ID laws, gerrymandering and long ballots for the decline, we here at Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform have some different ideas. Continue reading →

Letter To The Editor Calls Out Speaker Shannon For Blocking Ballot Access Reform

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For years, the Senate had been the primary roadblock to Ballot Access Reform. This year saw a shift from the Senate to a single member of the Oklahoma House, Speaker Shannon. I wrote a letter to the editor to NewsOK.com about his role in the death of this important reform and it was published earlier today. Here it is in it’s entirety. (This letter was also published, with some slightly different edits, at the Tulsa World)

Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon held true to his word — ballot access reform wasn’t a priority for him this year. Despite two bills being introduced this session, one in the House and one in the Senate, neither bill made it to the House floor for a vote. House Bill 2134, the bill that would have returned the petition requirement to form a new party to the 5,000-signature requirement of 1974, failed to reach the House floor. Despite passing the House Rules Committee, the Calendar Committee refused to hear the bill at the request of Shannon. This quickly killed the best opportunity for real reform in the state.

Senate Bill 668, which would have removed presidential elections from the signature calculations, also failed to reach the House floor. This would have had the benefit of stabilizing the signature requirement between elections. This bill passed the Senate and the House Judiciary Committee. Unfortunately, the Calendar Committee refused to hear the bill.

One must seriously question the priorities of Shannon if providing voters real election choices isn’t one of them. In the last three elections, Oklahoma voters have been the only ones in the United States to be denied more than two choices for president. Oklahoma voters need and want this reform. They’ve been asking for it for decades. If the Legislature and Shannon, specifically, are unwilling to make the change, the people will force it.

Again, We encourage all readers to write letters to both NewsOK and the Tulsa World as well as any local newspapers you read. The more we talk about this violation of voter rights, the better chance it has of passing.