Budget & Tax

Oklahoma Supreme Court rejects tax hike, requires county officials to follow the law

October 8, 2026

Ryan Haynie

The Oklahoma Supreme Court recently struck down a tax increase in McCurtain County because the proponents of the new tax did not follow legal procedures leading up to the vote on the proposed tax increase. It’s a rare, unanimous decision that should be celebrated by everyone who thinks the government should have to follow the law like the rest of us.

In 2020, the Board of County Commissioners for McCurtain County tried to impose a new lodging tax of 2% in addition to existing lodging taxes. As an aside, if you want more of something (and presumably McCurtain County wants more tourists staying in its hotels), it’s a good idea to tax it less, not more. 

The vote went to the people of the county, and it failed. But around two years later, the commissioners tried to pass it again in a special election. 

Since 1910, Oklahoma law has required these types of county elections to be “published at least four (4) weeks in some newspaper published in the county.” McCurtain County officials undertook a number of means to inform voters of the pending elections, which you can read about in paragraph 6 of the opinion. But the officials failed to provide the one type of notice the law required—publishing it in the paper. When the vote went to the people of the county, this time it passed with 65% of the vote.

The tax increase was challenged by a cabin owner and one of its customers. In addition to the county, the hospital that would have benefited from the tax increase also joined the lawsuit. 

The Court’s analysis was longer than what you might expect. The question was whether or not following the statutory requirement set by the legislature would invalidate the election. Should be a no-brainer, but the Court has to deal with its own precedent, which is inconsistent. In the past, the Court had held that elections were presumed valid and would not be invalidated if the letter of the law wasn’t followed exactly. It kind of makes you wonder what the point of election laws is if local governments aren’t required to follow them.

In the end, the Court made the right decision and invalidated the election leading to the tax increase. In its conclusion, the Court encouraged the Legislature to reevaluate whether the publication rules still make sense in the modern era where newspaper readership is so low. Whether it’s the Court’s place to make those recommendations is up for debate, but it is a solid point. In the meantime, local governments will need to follow election laws just like the rest of us.