Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a South Central state of the United States (with strong Southern, Western, and Midwestern influences) and its U.S. postal abbreviation is OK; others abbreviate the state's name Okla. As of 2000, the population is 3,450,654.

Law and government

State government

The capital of the state is Oklahoma City and its governor is Brad Henry (Democrat). Other Executive Branch elected officials include Lieutenant Governor Mary Fallin (Republican), State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan (Democrat), Attorney General Drew Edmondson (Democrat), State Treasurer Scott Meacham (Democrat), Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett (Democrat), Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau (Republican), Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland (Democrat), and the three member State Corporation Commission which currently consists of Bob Anthony (Republican), Jeff Cloud (Republican), and Denise Bode (Republican).

Related Topics:
Capital - Oklahoma City - Brad Henry - Mary Fallin - Jeff McMahan - Drew Edmondson - Scott Meacham - Sandy Garrett - Brenda Reneau - Kim Holland - Bob Anthony - Jeff Cloud - Denise Bode

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Oklahoma's state legislature consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate has 48 members serving four-year terms, while the House has 101 members with two year terms. The state has term limits for their legislature that restrict any one person to a total of twelve years service in both the house and senate.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 2005–2006 state legislature, control is split between the major parties, the Democrats control the Senate (26 to 22) while the Republicans control the House (57 to 44). This changes the government's make-up since before the 2004 election the Democrats controlled both chambers since 1921.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The state's judicial branch consists of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, and 77 District Courts which serve one county apiece. Oklahoma is unique in that it has two courts of last resort, the state Supreme Court hears civil cases, and the state Court of Criminal Appeals hears criminal cases. Judges of those two courts, as well as the Court of Civil Appeals are appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the state Judicial Nominating Commission, and are subject to a non-partisan retention vote on a six-year rotating schedule.

Related Topics:
Oklahoma Supreme Court - Non-partisan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Due to Oklahoma's restrictive ballot access laws (deemed by many to be the most restrictive in the nation), no third parties have access to the primary ballots, however the state does have the following active third parties: Oklahoma Libertarian Party, Green Party of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Constitution Party. There are also organizers from the Communist Party USA working in the state.

Related Topics:
Oklahoma Libertarian Party - Green Party of Oklahoma - Oklahoma Constitution Party - Communist Party USA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:See also: List of Oklahoma Governors

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Local governance

The state is divided into 77 counties which deliver local government. Each is governed by a three member commission. Other county elected officials are the tax assessor, clerk, court clerk, treasurer, and sheriff.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cities and towns are established under the rights granted in the Oklahoma statutes (in comparison, Oklahoma gives municipal governments a great deal of latitude in chartering new governments). Towns are municipalities of under 1000 residents, while cities have more than 1000 residents. Major cities are also allowed to form "charter governments," in which the voters choose the form of government they want to use in place of the statutory forms.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other local government units in Oklahoma include independent and dependent school districts, Vo-tech center districts, community college districts, rural fire departments, rural water districts, and other special use districts.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

National politics

After the 2000 census the Oklahoma delegation to the U.S. House was reduced from six to five representatives. For the 109th Congress (2005–2006) there are no changes in party strength, and the delegation has four Republicans and one Democrat. Oklahoma's two U.S. senators are James M. Inhofe (Republican) and Tom Coburn (Republican). The U.S. Representatives are John Sullivan (Republican) of District 1, Dan Boren (Democrat) of District 2, Frank D. Lucas (Republican) of District 3, Tom Cole (Republican) of District 4, and Ernest Istook (Republican) of District 5.

Related Topics:
2000 census - U.S. House - 109th Congress - Republicans - Democrat - James M. Inhofe - Tom Coburn - John Sullivan - Dan Boren - Frank D. Lucas - Tom Cole - Ernest Istook

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Interestingly, Oklahoma has been a staunch Republican state in national politics recently, voting for the Republican in every election since 1964. (although the 1976 Carter-Ford race was close). In 2004, George W. Bush carried every county in the state. His victory in winning Oklahoma's 7 electoral votes was by the overwhelming margin of 32 percentage points and 65.6% of the vote. Yet, despite this, there are still more registered Democrats in Oklahoma than Republicans.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~