Keaton Ross

Outside groups have poured more than $5.5 million into Oklahoma midterm races as state regulators consider stricter disclosure requirements.

Ten years after voters approved State Question 781 to send prison savings to county diversion programs, only 43 of 77 counties are participating as of Oct. 20.

About 180,000 Oklahomans have an active debt-related driver’s license suspension lasting an average of 38 months, trapping them in a cycle that makes it harder to work and pay their debt.

State Question 847, on the November 3 ballot, would lower Oklahoma's annual property assessment growth caps from 3% to 1.75% for homesteads and from 5% to 4% for commercial and rental properties. Supporters say it eases inflation pressure on homeowners and farmers. Critics say it will squeeze schools, counties and cities.

The Legislature is asking Oklahoma voters to consider changing the state Constitution to restructure the Judicial Nominating Commission.

Oklahoma prison inmates are working in call centers placing political calls and insurance telemarketing on behalf of outside companies, earning $2 an hour while a Virginia super PAC paid nearly $600,000 to the vendor for calls supporting conservative candidates — including calls made during Oklahoma's primary election season.

Outside groups and self-funded candidates have dominated recent Oklahoma elections, but that could soon change.

The legislatively referred constitutional amendment does not change Oklahoma’s voter identification law, though critics fear it could have unintended consequences.

Oklahoma political candidates and outside groups are increasingly using texting, with its cheap cost and high open rate, as a campaign strategy.

Outside groups have spent nearly $3 million on Oklahoma legislative races ahead of the June 16 primary election. Political action committees with obscure funding sources are fueling the spending.