Most of the time, voting means choosing between people. But every so often, you'll see a State Question on your ballot — a yes-or-no decision that you, the voter, make directly. No candidate, no middleman. Just you and the question.
We don't tell you how to vote on any measure. We explain what it is and point you to where you can read both sides.
What it is
A State Question is a proposed change to Oklahoma law or the Oklahoma Constitution, decided by a direct vote of the people. If more people vote yes than no, it passes and becomes law. It's one of the few moments where you don't elect someone to decide for you — you decide yourself.
How one reaches your ballot
There are three paths, and they start in very different places.
Citizen Initiative Petition
The Oklahoma Constitution gives the people the power to write law directly — gather a required number of signatures from registered voters, and your proposed law or constitutional change goes on the ballot for everyone to decide. Not every state allows this; Oklahoma does. It’s a demanding process, though: petitioners have just 90 days to collect every signature — the shortest window of any initiative state in the country. The specific rules have also changed over time, and some requirements passed recently are currently being challenged in the courts.
Veto Referendum
Sometimes the Legislature passes a law and some Oklahomans want the final say before it sticks. By gathering enough signatures within 90 days of the session ending, they can refer that already-passed law to a statewide vote — and voters decide whether to keep it or strike it down. It’s the mirror image of an initiative: instead of proposing a new law, the people get to approve or reject one the Legislature already passed. In practice it’s the rarest of the three — the entire petition has to be circulated, signed, and filed within just 90 days of the session ending, and no veto referendum has reached an Oklahoma ballot since 1970.
Legislative Referendum
The Legislature votes to send a question to the people instead of deciding it themselves. Some changes — like amending the State Constitution — must go to a public vote. So lawmakers refer them to you.
How you vote on one
On the November 3 Ballot
State Question 845
Concerns the structure of the Judicial Nominating Commission.
What's the law today
When a seat opens on one of Oklahoma's higher courts, a group called the Judicial Nominating Commission reviews the applicants and sends the governor a short list to choose from. Voters created the commission in 1967 through State Question 447. Under the current rules, appointments are tied to Oklahoma's congressional districts as they were drawn in 1967, there are limits on how many commissioners may be licensed attorneys and on the political party makeup of certain appointments, and immediate family members of commissioners are barred from practicing law.
What the measure does
It rewrites how the fifteen members are chosen. Appointments would follow congressional districts as they exist at the time of the appointment rather than the 1967 map. The governor would appoint six members and the Oklahoma Bar Association six, with three at-large members selected by no fewer than eight of the others. Any number of commissioners could be licensed attorneys in Oklahoma or another state, and the bar on immediate family members practicing law would be removed. At-large commissioners would serve two-year terms and everyone else six years, party-membership restrictions on the governor's appointees and at-large members would be removed, and a commissioner could succeed himself or herself. The official ballot title states the measure will not have a fiscal impact.
Official ballot title Read the exact wording you'll see on the ballot
Final ballot title, filed August 13, 2026:
This measure amends article 7-B, section 3 of the Oklahoma Constitution, changing the Judicial Nominating Commission's structure. Currently appointments are based on congressional districts as constituted in 1967. If approved, appointments to the fifteen-member Commission will be as follows: 1) Governor appoints six members, including one from each congressional district as of the time of their appointment; 2) the Oklahoma Bar Association appoints six members, including one from each congressional district as of the date of selection; and 3) no less than eight members select three at-large members. The measure will permit any number of the commissioners to be licensed attorneys in Oklahoma or another state. The prohibition against immediate family members from practicing law will be removed. The measure changes terms so that at-large commissioners would serve a two-year term, and all other commissioners would serve a six-year term. Additionally, it removes restrictions on political party membership for members appointed by the Governor and at-large members. The measure also permits a commissioner to succeed himself or herself. Vacancies will be filled in the same manner as a commissioner is appointed or selected for the remainder of the relevant term. This measure will not have a fiscal impact.
SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?
FOR THE PROPOSAL — YES AGAINST THE PROPOSAL — NO
Source: Oklahoma Secretary of State, final ballot title filed August 13, 2026. This is the official ballot title, verbatim.
State Question 847
Concerns annual limits on the taxable value of property.
What's the law today
Property taxes are calculated from a property's fair cash value, and the state constitution caps how much that value can rise in a single year. The cap is currently 5% for most real property and 3% for homesteads and agricultural land. Separately, homeowners aged 65 and older whose household income falls below a set limit have their homestead value frozen entirely, a provision often called the senior freeze.
What the measure does
Beginning in tax year 2027, the annual cap would drop to 4% for most real property and 1.75% for homesteads and agricultural land. It also replaces the senior freeze. Rather than no increase at all, homeowners 65 and older would have an annual limit tied to their household income compared with the median for their county or metropolitan area, ranging from no increase at the lowest tier up to 1.75% at the highest. The income cap to qualify would be eliminated. The official ballot title states the measure would have a fiscal impact on the state, but that the exact impact is unknown.
Official ballot title Read the exact wording you'll see on the ballot
Final ballot title:
This measure amends article 10, sections 8B and 8C of the Oklahoma Constitution. Currently, section 8B limits annual growth in fair cash value to 5% for most real property or 3% for homesteads and agricultural land. If approved, the measure would limit annual growth in fair cash value for tax year 2027 and after to 4% for most real property or 1.75% for homesteads and agricultural land. Currently, section 8C prohibits any increase in fair cash value of homestead property for persons age sixty-five (65) or older whose income does not exceed certain limits, sometimes referred to as the "senior freeze." Instead of prohibiting any increase in fair cash value for these homesteads, there would be an annual limit of 1.75%. The measure eliminates the income cap on gross household income to qualify for the senior freeze. If approved, the annual limit on an increase in fair cash value would be tied to how much gross household income the homestead owner had in the preceding year. If a homeowner's gross household income from the previous year was at or below the median income for their county or area (as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's estimated median income amount for the county or metropolitan statistical area), a homeowner's homestead fair cash value cannot be increased. If the income amount was in excess of certain thresholds, the limit on increases in fair cash value for homesteads owned by persons age 65 or older could be 0.35% (income over 100% up to 120%); 0.7% (income over 120% up to 140%); 1.05% (income over 140% up to 160%); 1.4% (income over 160% up to 180%); or 1.75% (income over 180%). If passed, this measure would have a fiscal impact on the state, but the exact impact is unknown.
SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?
FOR THE PROPOSAL — YES AGAINST THE PROPOSAL — NO
Source: Oklahoma Secretary of State. This is the official ballot title, verbatim.
We link to the arguments rather than write them. For balanced, nonpartisan summaries of what each side says, sources like Ballotpedia and the League of Women Voters maintain pro-and-con breakdowns. You read both; you decide.