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Kim Wright founded an organization for independent voters in Oklahoma. Read about her current initiative and press coverage below.
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Dear Oklahoma Independents,
Please sign onto my open letter to the Governor which is reprinted below. Let's show him that Oklahoma independents want our democratic rights protected and not abused.
Kim Wright |
An Open Letter to
Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry |
Dear Governor Henry,
As Independent voters, we are concerned that the initiative and referendum process in Oklahoma is being threatened. Three initiative leaders were brought up on criminal charges by the Attorney General for hiring out-of-state petition carriers to help place an initiative on the ballot, after they had been assured that it was legal. More than 300,000 Oklahomans signed the petition. However, the court ultimately ruled the initiative off the ballot and it was never voted on.
Now, almost a year later, the Attorney General has indicted the three initiative leaders for "willfully violating" the state's residency requirements. His persecution of the initiative leaders is a blow to the democratic rights of Oklahoma citizens. It serves only to frighten and intimidate voters from exercising their constitutional rights to participate in the initiative process.
We urge you to call on the Attorney General to drop this indictment and to defend our right to initiative and referendum.
Kim Wright
Founder, Independent Voters of Oklahoma
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The Lawton Constitution |
Independent Voters |
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10/07/2007 9:39 am |
Like a lot of people, Kim Wright is sick of politics as usual. But unlike most people, she decided to do something about it.
The Altus woman, who works as a mental health professional by day, is coordinator of the Organized Independent Voters of Southwest Oklahoma. The group is a local organization dedicated to providing a voice for voters who don't want to align themselves with a political party, especially either of the two main parties: the Republicans or the Democrats. The organization meets once a month, at the public libraries in Altus and Lawton. The exact day for meetings varies with the availability of library space.
The next meeting for the independent voters will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lawton library, 110 SW 4th.
Wright hopes to attract more people who don't fit the main political molds to her group, regardless of their specific beliefs.
"We will be discussing ballot reform," Wright said. "We'll also be discussing the pros and cons about candidates running for office."
She added that other topics of interest to independent voters will be discussed as well, especially the potential harmful effects of recent developments concerning the proposed trans-Texas corridor, which she said may soon allow for Mexican trucks to travel freely within the United States along I-35.
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Letters to the Editor |
CHANGING THE POLITICS OF OKLAHOMA |
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September 23, 2007 |
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By Kim Wright |
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The current laws which govern ballot access in Oklahoma are considered the most restrictive in the nation. So restrictive that in 2004 Oklahoma was the only state with only two presidential choices on the ballot. Any candidate who is not identified as a Democrat or Republican must collect signatures equal to 5% of the last presidential or gubernatorial vote which in 2006 meant 73,000 signatures. This is ten times the per capita requirement of most of our neighboring states.
Although elected officials (Democrats and Republicans) have discussed ballot access reform for years, no action has been taken in either the Senate or the House. One wonders if current legislators benefit by maintaining the status quo since 80% of the House and 77% of the Senate races in the 2006 mid-term elections were unopposed. Major party leaders might be content with these statistics, but most voters are not. The Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform (OBAR), a coalition of independents, and third party members, want to give Oklahomans more voter choice.
On Friday, September 14th, OBAR filed with the Secretary of State to circulate an initiative petition to reform current ballot access laws. The initiative will return the number of signatures for recognition of a political party (candidate) back to 5,000 (the required number until 1974). OBAR will need to collect approximately 90,000 signatures in 90 days to bring the issue to the ballot and ultimately the voters. Should the initiative pass, Oklahoma would become the 30th state to require 5000 or fewer signatures for a new political party or independent presidential candidate. There is already national interest in this state initiative.
The number of registered independent voters in Oklahoma tripled between 1994 and 2004. According to a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, 40% of voters nationwide identify themselves as independent. One hundred years ago, the sooners of Oklahoma entered uncharted territory. We, as independents, are doing that again today to change the landscape of politics in Oklahoma and our country. An open meeting of the Organized Independent Voters of SW Oklahoma will be held on Thursday, October 9th at 7:00 pm in the Altus Public Library. All voters are invited to attend.
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