Small: Voters send message with vote on judges

Voters send message with vote on judges

By Jonathan Small

Oklahomans sent a message this week when they voted, for the first time in state history, to oust a sitting member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court while two other justices came within a whisker of sharing the same fate. The question is whether defenders of the status quo will listen to the voters.

In 1967, Oklahoma voters chose to alter our state’s system of judicial selection including retention-ballot elections for key judicial appointees. Public evaluation of judges was always supposed to be a key component of the process.

But in the 57 years that have since passed, Oklahomans typically had little information provided about the judges they were supposed to evaluate. As a result, no member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court ever fell short on a retention-ballot vote before this year.

That changed in 2024. For the first time, Oklahomans were provided information on the justices facing a retention vote. For the first time, citizens had a way to evaluate judicial performance. And, for the first time, voters chose to remove a justice from the Oklahoma Supreme Court bench.

Pro-life leader: 3 Oklahoma Supreme Court justices on ballot have "deep pro-abortion bias"

The following is from Oklahomans For Life Chairman Tony Lauinger regarding the three Oklahoma Supreme Court justices up for a statewide retention vote:

Pro-Abortion State Supreme Court Justices’ Fate Rests in Voters’ Hands; Options Are Retirement  Or Six More Years of Pro-Abortion Activism

Three notoriously pro-abortion members of the Oklahoma Supreme Court are on the JUDICIAL RETENTION section of the ballot for the November 5th General Election. Under the heading Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court are listed separately the names of Noma Gurich, Yvonne Kauger, and James Edmondson. 

All three of these justices have shown themselves to be relentlessly in opposition to protecting the lives of unborn children.

Here's what you need to know about the judges on the 2024 ballot

It's voting time, and you're likely here because you don't want to be surprised when you see twelve judges and justices on your ballot that you know nothing about. Thanks for dropping by!

If you've ever done the frustrating task of searching for information on these courts and judges, I feel your pain. As I mentioned in previous election years, finding information on the justices and judges on the retention ballot can be a difficult task, and basic information such as their ages can be anywhere from difficult to find to completely unknown to even Google.

In this post, I'll cover the following justices and judges, which are on every Oklahoma voter's ballot:

• Supreme Court - Noma D. Gurich
• Supreme Court - Yvonne Kauger
• Supreme Court - James E. Edmondson
• Court of Criminal Appeals - William J. Musseman
• Court of Criminal Appeals - Scott Rowland
• Court of Criminal Appeals - David B. Lewis
• Court of Civil Appeals - James R. Huber
• Court of Civil Appeals - Timothy J. Downing
• Court of Civil Appeals - Thomas E. Prince
• Court of Civil Appeals - Robert Bobby Bell
• Court of Civil Appeals - E Bay Mitchell, III
• Court of Civil Appeals - Brian Jack Goree

Group launches campaign to oust liberal justices on Oklahoma Supreme Court

We're one month out from the election, and finally, someone is actually attempting to do something about activist liberal justices on the Oklahoma Supreme Court and running a campaign to get folks to vote 'NO' on the judicial retention ballot. Since Oklahoma went to this system in the 1960s, no justice or judge has ever lost a retention vote.

Watch the ad from People for Opportunity: