Oklahoma voters in 27 counties will cast ballots on a variety of proposals Tuesday.
Residents are tasked with deciding on funding questions, from sales tax changes to school bonds. Though most measures can pass with 50% approval, school bonds need to earn a thumbs-up from at least 60% of voters.
Below are some of the races KOSU is watching. To find your polling location and hours, head to the Oklahoma Voter Portal.
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City voters will decide on a $2.7 billion municipal bond package — the biggest in the city's history.
The bond is divided into 11 propositions, with over half the funding centered around street improvements. Unlike a school bond, it will only need a simple majority to pass.
For more information, check out KOSU's recent reporting on the bond.
Town of Carnegie and Carnegie Public Schools
Voters in Carnegie will have the chance to vote on two local issues.
One proposition asks voters to decide whether to redirect a current 1% sales tax from the Carnegie Tri-County Municipal Hospital to streets. The hospital posted a letter on Facebook encouraging residents to vote against the proposal in order to help maintain operations.
Mayor Cody Dupler, however, wrote he believes approving the transfer is the only way to fund street improvements. He added that, according to a survey he conducted, streets are the biggest concern of the town's residents. Approving the measure would result in a 400% increase in street funding. That same dollar amount is less than 1% of the hospital's annual revenue, he calculated.
Voters within the town's school district will also vote on a $4 million bond to fund a new Wildcat Wellness Center. If approved, the renovations would create new locker rooms and a workout space, plus updated HVAC. It will not increase property tax rates.
City of Pawhuska
Pawhuska is considering a new representation system for its five-member city council.
Currently, Pawhuska is divided into four wards, and each ward has a councilmember who lives within its boundaries. There is also a fifth member at large, who can live anywhere in Pawhuska. All registered voters in Pawhuska can cast ballots for all five council members, regardless of which ward they live in.
If voters approve Tuesday's proposition, the city council wards would disappear. All five members could live anywhere in Pawhuska and would be elected by the entire city.
This proposition came forward as a ballot initiative, which means community members submitted the question and collected enough signatures to put it on the ballot.
Pawnee County
Pawnee County voters will consider three propositions that would increase sales tax slightly to pay for county services.
The first proposition would create a sales tax to fund facilities, equipment and maintenance for the Pawnee County Fairgrounds. The second would build, improve and maintain county bridges with a new two-tenths percent sales tax. And the third proposition would use a new one-tenth percent sales tax to maintain and operate the county jail.
If voters approve all three questions, the county's sales tax rate would increase from the current 1.6% to 2.0%. That means shoppers would pay an additional 4 cents for every $10 they spend in Pawnee County next year through 2036.
Little Axe Public Schools
Little Axe is a rural school district that covers parts of eastern Norman, far southeastern Oklahoma City and Pink. Its residents will consider two bond propositions.
If voters approve a $57 million bond series, Little Axe will build a new high school and convert the existing high school to a facility for 4th- and 5th-grade students.
In a letter to community members, District Superintendent Jay Thomas said the new school, which the district hopes to complete before the start of the 2027 school year, would alleviate crowding in the growing district and provide access to more and better athletic facilities.
The school district would use property taxes to pay back the bond over 20 years. Thomas emphasized that property tax rates to repay the bonds would not exceed the rates voters approved in 2016 to pay back a bond for a new safe room. Community members haven't actually been paying those full tax rates because housing growth allowed the district to pay off the 2016 bond using a lower rate spread across more property owners.
Little Axe voters will also consider a separate $1 million 5-year school bond that covers transportation.
City of Noble
Noble will vote on whether to approve a 25-year franchise agreement with OG+E. Nearby, in Norman, voters narrowly rejected a similar agreement in 2023 and again in 2024.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
