Sooner State Party Seeks 33,483 Signatures to Join Oklahoma Parties

Organizers for the Sooner State Party are preparing a second attempt to secure official recognition as a political party in Oklahoma.

The group fell just 410 signatures short of the threshold required to qualify during their previous effort earlier this year. To succeed in this new drive, organizers must now collect 33,483 signatures, a figure adjusted based on voter turnout from the November gubernatorial election.

“What we are trying to do is provide a party where independents will always have an option to vote,” C.J. Webber-Neal, co-founder of the Sooner State Party, said.

The push comes as independent voters represent a large portion of the state's electorate but lack formal representation in the primary process. While the Democratic Party previously allowed independent voters to participate in their primaries, that practice was not extended to them this year.

Currently, Oklahoma recognizes three official political parties: Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian. However, the number of registered independent voters suggests a mismatch between the formal party system and the actual makeup of the electorate.

According to data from the Oklahoma State Election Board, the registration breakdown as of Nov. 1 reveals a large segment of the population operating outside the three-party structure.

Party Affiliation	Registered Voters
Republican	Over 1,300,000
Democrat	627,581
Independent	500,175
Libertarian	23,704

With independents making up roughly 1 in 5 voters, the Sooner State Party argues that the current system restricts the franchise of a massive voting bloc. Webber-Neal said that because these voters are not part of a recognized party, they are often left to the discretion of the existing major parties to decide if they can participate in elections.

“We’ve always believed that if tax dollars are going to go towards elections, and yet you are basically at the will of other parties to determine whether or not you can actually exercise that franchise, that’s wrong if you are kept out of that,” Webber-Neal said.

The proposed party intends to adopt a platform that is fiscally conservative but socially liberal, using a bison as its official mascot.

The formal signature collection process is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Nov. 16 at the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, located at 300 Park Avenue in Oklahoma City.

Once the group provides official notice to the State Election Board, they will have a one-year window to meet the signature requirements. Misha Mohr, a spokeswoman for the State Election Board, confirmed this timeframe for the group’s efforts.

The challenge for the Sooner State Party lies in the sheer scale of the task. While the previous attempt was hampered by a narrow margin of just 410 signatures, the new requirement of 33,483 signatures demands a much more intensive mobilization of volunteers and voters across the state.

The success or failure of this drive will determine whether Oklahoma's political system moves from a three-party model to a more pluralistic one, potentially changing how independent voters influence local and state policy.

The signature drive is set to kickoff at 6 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, 300 Park Avenue in Oklahoma City.