Minimum Wage Proposal Set For 2026 Election
A state question to raise the minimum wage will go before Oklahoma voters in 2026.
Voter petitions decide WHICH state questions appear on Oklahoma ballots. But Gov. Kevin Stitt decides WHEN.
And even though the “Raise the Wage” campaign organizers turned in almost double the required signatures for State Question 832, Oklahomans won’t vote on the proposal for almost two years.
In an order submitted to the secretary of state, Stitt calls for the election on June 16, 2026. That’s the same day as statewide primaries.
The question will ask voters to gradually raise the wage to $15 an hour by 2029.
It will also include a provision to increase the minimum wage annually in tandem with the cost of living.
An organizer for Raise the Wage told a Tulsa World reporter her organization is looking for a way to force the election sooner. But it’s unclear if or when that could happen.
Results Of Disputed Comanche County Primary Will Stand
A Lawton judge says even though some Democrats and Independents cast ballots in a closed Republican primary earlier this month, the results will stand.
Now, the local prosecutor vows to illuminate where Oklahoma’s election laws can go wrong.
Comanche County District Attorney Kyle Cabelka had asked the judge to throw out the primary election runoff results.
Cabelka said he’s concerned about the process of certifying the results after reports of some Democrats and Independents casting Republican ballots.
When he inquired with local and state election officials about the problem, he said he was met with absolute confusion.
“And even kind of, minimization that was being done on the issue, it concerned me and that concern just got exaggerated and exacerbated. The further along we went in the process,” Cabelka said.
It’s clear now, Cabelka said, election officials didn’t actually know how many improper votes were cast in the election.
And when they told him ‘it happens all the time,’ he said it opened his eyes to how elections are run in Oklahoma.
Langston University Extension Will Bring In 9 New Counties
Langston University’s Cooperative Extension is about to get bigger.
The extension spans 19 Oklahoma counties, but that number will reach 28 thanks to new funding.
Langston University President Ruth Ray Jackson said the university received $2.5 million more in agriculture programs and research funding this year.
Money for extension research and programs comes from the federal government, and the state is required to match it dollar for dollar. After steadily increasing its funding match, this is the first time the state has reached a 100% funding match for the university, according to a university press release.
The extension provides educational programs and services to producers and the general public, including working with the state’s historic All-Black Towns, 4-H youth development program and connecting farmers with smaller operations to resources.
For Micah Anderson, a horticulture extension educator, this means connecting to more people. He said the growing extension staff is gradually contacting more people and trying to help underserved farmers.
“It's just a good feeling that you're able to reach people, and people are being helped,” Anderson said.
He said it also means the extension will need to use more community-based organizations and probably add people.
The university received $3.5 million dollars for delayed maintenance projects. About $2.5 million is going toward replacing the roof on the university’s Oklahoma City campus, which was the former News 9 headquarters.
This comes after state lawmakers called for an audit following a letter from the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture saying the university is one of 16 historically Black colleges that have been underfunded. According to the letter, Langston University has been underfunded by more than $400 million dollars since 1987.
AG Drummond Supports Warning Label On Social Media Platforms
Attorney General Gentner Drummond is one of 42 attorneys general calling on federal lawmakers to require a warning label on all algorithm-driven social media platforms.
This comes a few months after the U.S. surgeon general asked Congress to do the same thing.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond signed a joint letter to Congress, arguing it could help protect future generations of Americans by mandating a surgeon general’s warning on these platforms.
The letter highlights how research links social media platforms to things like depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation in youth. Algorithms and notifications can also disrupt sleep.
States have sought to address social media platforms directly. Drummond, for example, filed a lawsuit against Meta in October for “knowingly designing and deploying harmful features on Instagram.”
The attorneys general said a label could help highlight the risks of social media and encourage research into lacking oversight over the platforms.
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