Early Voting
State questions allow the public to exercise power by amending the state's Constitution by voting on measures on a ballot. According to the Oklahoma Constitution Article 5 Section 1, which is provided by the Oklahoma Department of Libraries,
"The Legislative authority of the State shall be vested in a Legislature, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives; but the people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and amendments to the Constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the Legislature, and also reserve power at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any act of the Legislature."
What Questions will appear on the Oklahoma ballot in November?
There are three state questions that Oklahoma citizens can vote on in the 2020 elections. State Question 802 was on the June primary ballot and was approved. According to Ballotpedia, State Question 802 will "expand Medicaid in Oklahoma to certain low-income adults between 18 and 65 with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty level."
State Questions 805 and 814 will appear on the November ballot. State Question 805 is an Initiative Petition and according to the Oklahoma State Election Board, the measure "would prohibit the use of a former felony conviction to increase the statutorily allowable base range of punishment for a person subsequently convicted of a felony." Simply stated, this measure would prohibit sentences to be contingent on an individual's former felony conviction; harsher sentences cannot be put into effect just because the individual had a felony conviction. In addition, this measure would allow some individuals to qualify for sentence modifications. This measure seeks to reduce the incarceration rate of Oklahoma, which is one of the highest in the United States. According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, "Oklahoma courts sentence people to prison more often and for longer periods of time when compared to the rest of the country." Currently, an individual's prior felony convictions can be used against them for a new sentence. This petition would allow individuals who did not commit a violent felony to be exempt from sentence enhancement- the act of sentencing an individual to a longer period of time than the maximum sentence according to his/her past conduct or history.
State Question 814 is a Legislative Referendum and deals with the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund (TSET). According to the Oklahoma State Election Board, this measure would "reduce the percentage of proceeds that go into the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund from 75% to 25%. As a result, the remaining 75% will go to the Legislative Fund and the Legislature may continue to direct a portion to the Attorney General." Under this new measure, the 75% that would go to the Legislative Fund would be used to support Oklahoma's Medicaid program. The TSET currently receives 75% of the funds while Legislature receives 25%. The TSET invests these funds into research and other health care initiatives. These percentages are contingent on a 1998 tobacco lawsuit settlement. According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, "Oklahoma and 45 other states were part of a lawsuit that ended with tobacco companies agreeing to make annual payments to states as long as tobacco is sold nationally."
Types of State Questions
It was previously stated that State Question 805 was considered an Initiative Petition and State Question 814 was a Legislative Referendum, but what exactly do these terms mean?
According to the Oklahoma Secretary of State, an Initiative Petition is "a process by which the legal voters of Oklahoma have the right to propose any legislative measure or to propose amendments to the Oklahoma State Constitution." A Legislative Referendum is considered "a method used by the Legislature to submit a proposed measure to the legal voters of Oklahoma."
Additional Resources
Oklahoma Voting Guide by the League of Women Voters
This voter guide contains information about the State Questions and the Candidates who will be on the ballot November 3, 2020.
Master Settlement Agreement
This resource provides the settlement between tobacco companies and the states that filed a lawsuit against them.
America's Health Rankings- United Health Foundations
This resource provides facts about the consequences of smoking, along with smoking rates in Oklahoma and across the nation.
~Emily Hancz
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