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Every four years, many Americans wind up on the losing side and thus disappointed by the presidential election. No matter how politically correct we get, not everyone can get a trophy on election day. These wins and losses too often color how we see our political institutions. This is certainly true of the often misunderstood Electoral College.

It was a free speech forum, of all places. This month at the University of Missouri, CNN commentator Sally Kohn declared herself “happy” if people she disagrees with feel “under assault” for expressing their beliefs. “If they feel like they can no longer speak … good.”

A product of the populist era, the Oklahoma Constitution establishes processes for direct democracy. On the November 2016 general election ballot, Oklahoma voters will decide whether to adopt four constitutional amendments and three changes to state statutes. Some of these measures are as simple as restating current law. Others would make complex regulatory changes or change legal standards in future lawsuits. The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs does not support or oppose ballot measures. To help voters, we are providing accurate descriptions and analysis of what these ballot measures say and will do if adopted by voters.

A product of the populist era, the Oklahoma Constitution establishes processes for direct democracy. On the November 2016 general election ballot, Oklahoma voters will decide whether to adopt four constitutional amendments and three changes to state statutes.

OKLAHOMA CITY – OCPA Impact, an advocacy organization associated with the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, filed a challenge to the gist of State Question 779, commonly known as the Boren Penny Tax.

Policymakers will work this legislative session to change the failed status quo. An area that has hassled Oklahomans for decades is alcohol, beer and wine regulation in Oklahoma. Consumers have long called for modernization of Oklahoma’s archaic alcohol, beer and wine laws. Policymakers are heeding the call.

Oklahoma’s smoking rate recently dropped to an all-time low. The Oklahoma City Council should celebrate that fact and reconsider how best to continue that trend without causing harmful unintended consequences.

When Oklahoma policymakers rely on and accept federal funds knowing some of those funds are borrowed, they violate the spirit of our own state Constitution. They also act against the better judgment of the majority of Oklahomans.

There’s a high cost to massive expansion of federal regulation; a cost that can’t be measured in dollars. Yes, we can measure dollars expended by government, extracted by taxpayers or forgone in lost economic growth. And yes, these costs are high and harmful. But the more difficult to measure cost of this centralization of regulation is the long-term dumbing-down of U.S. public policy.