The 2010 Oklahoma elections were held on November 2, 2010. The primary election was held on July 27. The runoff primary election was held August 24.[1]
The Republican Party swept every statewide election and expanded its majorities in both state legislative chambers. An extremely socially conservative state, Oklahoma has not voted Democratic in a presidential election since 1964 but remained reliably Democratic at the state level well into the 2000s. This election marked a new and decisive alignment in the state's partisanship at all levels of government, with the GOP continuing to make gains in almost every election since.
Overview
NOTES:
Bob Anthony and Jeff Cloud were not on the 2010 ballot due to the staggered election terms of the Corporation Commission.
With Todd Lamb's election to lieutenant governor, one Oklahoma Senate seat remains vacant, to be filled in a January 2011 special election.
The 2010 gubernatorial election determined the successor of incumbent Democratic governor Brad Henry, who, due to term limits placed on him by the Oklahoma Constitution, could not seek re-election.
The 2010 lieutenant governor election determined the successor of incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Jari Askins, who stepped down to run for governor.
The 2010 state auditor and inspector election was the first election for the office of state auditor and inspector since former Democratic state auditor Jeff McMahan was forced to resign in 2008 due to corruption charges.
Governor Brad Henry appointed fellow Democrat Steve Burrage to serve out the remainder of McMahan's unexpired term. Burrage then sought a full term in office but lost to Gary Jones, who was making his third run for the office. Despite losing by 11.8%, Burrage had the second best performance of any statewide Democrat and was only one of two to get over 40% of the vote (the other being Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland).
Article 6, Section 19 of the Oklahoma Constitution places one additional requirement upon the State Auditor and Inspector beyond the other constitutional requirements for those seeking statewide offices. The auditor must have at least 3 years of prior experience as an "expert accountant" before seeking office. (The term "expert accountant" is not defined but is generally understood to require that the officeholder must be a certified public accountant.)
The 2010 attorney general election determined the successor of incumbent Democratic attorney general Drew Edmondson, who stepped down to run for governor but lost in the Democratic Party primary.
The 2010 State Treasurer election determined the successor of incumbent Democratic State Treasurer Scott Meacham, who declined to seek a second full term in office.
Ken Miller - current state representative, current chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee and economics professor at Oklahoma Christian University
The 2010 Superintendent of Public Instruction election determined the successor of incumbent Democratic Superintendent Sandy Garrett, who declined to seek a sixth full term in office.
The 2010 Corporation Commissioner election was for the seat currently held by incumbent Republican commissioner Dana Murphy, who won her primary election. As the Democratic Party did not field a candidate, and no independent candidate sought office, Murphy was thus elected as commissioner.
All five Oklahoma seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2010. However, incumbent Tom Cole in District 4 had no opposition in the general election.
State Question 744 would have amended the Oklahoma Constitution by adding a new article: Article 13-C - Amount of money the State provides to support common schools.
The proposed Constitutional amendment would have mandated that the Oklahoma Legislature spend no less than the average amount spent by "neighboring states" (those states which border Oklahoma: Missouri, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Colorado and New Mexico) on "common education" (defined as grades pre-kindergarten through high school) on an annual, per-student basis. If the surrounding-state average ever declined, the legislature would be required to spend the same amount as it did the year before. The measure required that increased spending begin in the first fiscal year after its passage and that the surrounding-state average be met in the third fiscal year after passage.
The proposed amendment did not provide a funding source for the new spending requirements and was therefore overwhelmingly defeated.
State Question 746 would amend various State laws relating to voting requirements. It requires that each person appearing to vote present a document proving their identity. The document must meet the following requirements:
It must have the name and photograph of the voter.
It must have been issued by the federal, state or tribal government.
It must have an expiration date that is after the date of the election.
No expiration date would be required on certain identity cards issued to person 65 years of age or older. In lieu of such a document, voters could present voter identification cards issued by the County Election Board. A person who cannot or does not present the required identification may sign a sworn statement and cast a provisional ballot. Swearing to a false statement would be a felony.
If approved, the measure would become effective July 1, 2011.
State Question 747 would amend the Oklahoma Constitution by placing term limits on all Statewide elected officials. All officials would be allowed to serve no more two terms in office. Terms served need not be consecutive for the limits to apply.
State Question 748 would amend the Oklahoma Constitution by amending Article 5, Sections 11A and 11B. The measure would change how the districts of the Oklahoma Legislature are apportioned.
Currently, the Apportionment Commission is responsible for setting district boundaries every ten years if the legislature itself fails to do so. The Apportionment Commission, as currently established, is composed of the attorney general, the state treasurer and the state superintendent of public instruction. The measure would change the commission's name to the Bipartisan Commission on Legislative Apportionment and would increase the number of members from three to seven. The president pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate would appoint one Democrat and one Republican, the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives would appoint one Democrat and one Republican, and the governor of Oklahoma would appoint one Democrat and one Republican.
The lieutenant governor of Oklahoma would chair the commission and would be a nonvoting member. It requires orders of apportionment to be signed by at least four members of the commission.
This measure would amend the Oklahoma Constitution by altering the initiative petitions and with referendum petitions process by changing the number of signatures required for such petitions.
The following voter signature requirements would apply:
8% must sign to propose law
15% must sign to propose to change the State Constitution.
5% must sign to order a referendum.
These percentages are based upon the State office receiving the most total votes at the last general election when the governor is on the ballot. The measure's basis does not use general elections with the president on the ballot. More votes are usually cast at presidential general elections. Thus, the measure would generally have a lowering effect on the number of required signatures.
This measure would amend the Oklahoma Constitution by adding a new Article to the Constitution. That Article would deal with the State's official actions. It dictates the language to be used in taking official State actions must be the English language. However, it allows for Native American languages could also be used and, when Federal law so requires, other languages could also be used.
The term "official actions" is not defined. The Oklahoma Legislature could pass laws determining the application of the language requirements. No lawsuit based on State law could be brought on the basis of a State agency's failure to use a language other than English nor could such a lawsuit be brought against political subdivisions of the State.
This measure would amend Section 3 of Article 7-B of the Oklahoma Constitution. The amendment adds two at-large members to the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission. At-large members can come from any Oklahoma congressional district. The President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate would appoint one of the new at-large members and the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives would appoint the other. At-large members cannot be lawyers, can not have a lawyer in their immediate family. Nor can more than two at-large members be from the same political party. This would raise the total membership on the commission from 13 to 15.
This measure would have added a new section, Section 55A of Article 5, to the Oklahoma Constitution. Under the measure, the Constitution could not have required the Oklahoma Legislature to fund state functions based on:
1. Predetermined constitutional formulas,
2. How much other states spend on a function,
3. How much any entity spends on a function.
Under the measure, these limits on the Constitution's power to control appropriations would have applied even if:
1. A later constitutional amendment changed the Constitution, or
2. A constitutional amendment to the contrary was passed at the same time as this measure.
The Question was in direct opposition toward State Question 744 which also appeared on the ballot.
This measure amended the Constitution of Oklahoma. It requires courts to rely solely on federal and state law when deciding cases. It forbids courts from considering or using international law or using Sharia.[4]
The results of State Question 755 have not been officially certified by the Oklahoma Election Board due to an injunction filed in Federal Court by the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR is challenging its constitutionality under the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution of the United States.[5] A Federal District Court in Oklahoma City temporarily blocked certification of the election results, calling the measure an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment because the measure conveys a message that the state favors one religion or particular belief.[6] The state election board appealed the ruling to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals,[7] but that court unanimously upheld the ruling blocking the amendment:
The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on January 10, 2012 unanimously upheld[8] a ruling blocking the implementation of an Oklahoma constitutional amendment[9] that would have prohibited state courts from considering Islamic and international law in deciding cases. Approved by approximately 70 percent[10] of Oklahoma voters, but challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), State Question 755, also called the “Save Our State Amendment,” was classified by the court as singling out Islam for unfavorable treatment in state courts. The court ruled that the provision likes [sic] violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.[11]
This measure adds a new section, Section 37 to Article 2, of Oklahoma Constitution. It defines "health care system." It prohibits making a person participate in a health care system, prohibits making an employer participate in a health care system, and prohibits making a health care provider provide treatment in a health care system. It would allow persons and employees to pay for treatment directly, it would allow health care provider to accept payment for treatment directly, it would allow the purchase of health care insurance in private health care systems and it would allow the sale of health insurance in private health care systems.
This measure amends Section 23 of Article 10 of the Oklahoma Constitution. It would increase the amount of surplus revenue which goes into the Constitutional Reserve Fund. The amount would go from 10% to 15% of the funds certified as going to the General Revenue fund for the preceding fiscal year.
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