Summary Of Oklahoma Law Tough On Minority Party

The article, “Oklahoma Law: Tough on Minority Party and Independent Presidential Candidates”, by Richard Winger seeks to explain how Oklahoma stringent election laws came to be and why having these laws that make it difficult for minor parties to succeed should change. The problem Winger addresses in his article is supported by historical evidence ranging back from 1890 to today, with comparisons made to other states. The case against rigid election laws that Winger presents is supported by over a century of historical evidence he presents. Starting in 1890, when Oklahoma was still a territory, voters were free to create their own ballots. These ballots were typically provided by a voter’s preferred political party and would only carry the

The then Democratic legislature most likely feared the rise in power minor parties were beginning to have, especially the Socialist Party. Accordingly, a law was passed that declared minor parties had to poll at five percent in last election, poll at ten percent at either of the last two elections in the state, or polle at ten percent in any three other states at the last election. This strictness was developed again in 1915 when an additional law that stated if turnout for a party was less than twenty-seven percent that of the previous election, the party would be able to put forth any nominations. This was aimed specifically at the Socialist Parties, who historically had low turnouts. Therefore, they were wiped off of elections entirely by

La Follette announced he would be running for president under the newly formed Progressive Party. A Joint Resolution was released by the Oklahoma Legislature denouncing the old standards, stating a potential candidate only needed 5,000 signatures on a petition to appear on a ballot. From 1932 to 1967, the only predicament that minor parties faced was the changing of primary dates. Once the date was set and has since remained in August, this hurdle disappeared. The new problem facing minor parties arose in 1974 when a new law was passed; instead of the previous standard of requiring 5,000 signatures, a party now had to have at least five percent of the last vote cast for the office at the top of the ticket. Simultaneously, the US Supreme Court ruled that states had to have a clear procedure for independent presidential candidates to appear on a ballot. Senator McCarthy took advantage of this new ruling and announced his run for presidency, suing Oklahoma. Oklahoma’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of the US Supreme Court’s ruling. Subsequently, Oklahoma changed the law from requiring five percent to three percent of the last presidential vote in 1977, although this did very little to ease the ability of minor parties to appear on the