Oklahoma City, OK — Over the weekend, Governor Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 652 into law, a key piece of legislation backed by the Freedom Foundation and authored by Senator Lonnie Paxton and Representative Mike Osburn. SB 652 restructures Oklahoma’s school board election laws which will ultimately lead to an increase in voter participation and reduce election costs to taxpayers.
“Unions have used off-year, off-cycle election dates and historically low voter participation to influence critical school board elections. In signing this bill, Governor Stitt and the Oklahoma Legislature are striking a powerful blow to force unions to fairly compete in school board elections,” said Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe. “This law restores much needed integrity, accountability and transparency to the election process.”
The new law revises the election calendar for all school board races across the state, aligning them with broader election cycles to ensure higher turnout and greater public accountability. The legislation mirrors the efforts of Oklahoma’s neighbor, Arkansas, where recent reforms also changed school board election dates to better serve families and students.
The Freedom Foundation applauds Governor Stitt and Oklahoma legislators for advancing this important election reform that will put the needs of students and their families first.
