An initiative petition, backed by out-of-state activists, is currently circulating to replace Oklahoma’s current primary-election process with a California-style “top two” or “open primary” system. That system can result in two officials from the same political party being the only choices on the November general-election ballot.
The proposed new system has drawn criticism not only from a wide range of Oklahoma conservatives but also from an unexpected source: the Democrat who oversees California’s election system.
“I’ve never liked that system and still don’t,” said California Secretary of State Shirley Webber in an April 2021 interview with the Bipartisan Policy Center. “And let me tell you why: I think it disenfranchises the small parties.”
