Articles
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Law & Principles
Top-two primary proposal draws criticism—from California’s own elections chief
State Question 836 would replace Oklahoma’s party primaries with a California-style “top two” system. But even California’s own secretary of state says this flawed system disenfranchises smaller parties and limits voter choice.Ray Carter | November 19, 2025
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Law & Principles
America at 250: Lincoln’s words still define us
Abraham Lincoln articulated America’s founding creed with unmatched clarity 162 years ago at Gettysburg.Trent England | November 19, 2025
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Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
Oklahoma’s food-stamp numbers spark questions about fraud
Oklahoma’s food-stamp participation rate is nearly 50 percent higher than its poverty rate—a gap wider than almost any other state—raising questions about potential fraud or lax eligibility enforcement. Oklahoma’s political leaders must ensure that benefits reach only those who truly qualify.Jonathan Small | November 17, 2025
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Law & Principles
School chaplains are not unconstitutional
Chaplains have long served in America’s public institutions without violating constitutional limits on church and state. Given the State of Oklahoma’s extensive precedent for employing chaplains, public schools are well within their rights to offer voluntary chaplain services.Ryan Haynie | November 12, 2025
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Law & Principles
Clinton, Biden donors call for ‘open primaries’ in Oklahoma
Many leading advocates of State Question 836—a proposal to replace Oklahoma’s traditional party-primary system with a California-style “open primary”—are donors to left-wing candidates and causes.Ray Carter | November 11, 2025
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Law & Principles
Big, beautiful reform: Keep illegal aliens off Oklahoma’s welfare rolls
Oklahoma’s political leaders must safeguard limited public resources by prohibiting illegal aliens from accessing Medicaid or food stamps. Here’s how.Staff | November 11, 2025
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Law & Principles
Ruling reaffirms state power to prosecute crimes within tribal boundaries
A federal judge has rejected the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s request to bar Oklahoma prosecutors from charging American Indians who are not members of the tribe for crimes committed within its historic reservation, which includes much of Tulsa.Ray Carter | November 10, 2025
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Education, Law & Principles
School-produced illiteracy crisis gets Oklahoma lawmakers’ attention
Oklahoma’s fourth-grade reading levels are among the worst in the nation. It appears our state lawmakers are beginning to take notice.Jonathan Small | November 10, 2025
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Law & Principles, Culture & the Family
Backers of Oklahoma open-primary plan tout California as model, success story
Supporters of State Question 836, which would replace Oklahoma’s party primaries with a single “open primary” where all candidates appear on one ballot, tout California’s system as a model.Ray Carter | November 7, 2025
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Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
Oklahoma food-stamp numbers raise fraud concerns
Federal audits estimate that more than 10 percent of Oklahoma’s SNAP payments go to unqualified recipients, a rate that could saddle the state with up to $226 million in annual penalties under a new federal law.Ray Carter | November 4, 2025