On March 21, 2016, the Oklahoma Election Board announced the Libertarian Party is now an officially recognized party in Oklahoma. It had been 16 years since that was the case. In the years between, Oklahoma has had only two Presidential candidates and two parties available for Oklahoma voters. This is a horrible injustice to the people of Oklahoma.
This announcement was possible thanks in part to the work of Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform a coalition of voters and candidates from all political ideologies with the common goal of expanding electoral freedom in Oklahoma. For 6 years, Zachary had taken a major leadership role in OBAR and lobbied tirelessly for reformation of Oklahoma’s ballot access laws. This culminated in a 2015 bill to lower the petition requirement to form a new party from 5% of the last vote cast to 3% of the last vote for Governor. This allowed the Libertarian party to successfully petition and gain recognition. (more…)