Voters give thumbs down to Oklahoma Legislature’s attempt to reform judiciary selections

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma voters on Tuesday soundly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would give Republicans more influence over a panel that helps select judges.

Voters rebuffed the state question put on the ballot by lawmakers that would have made changes to the Judicial Nominating Commission.

The 15-member panel vets judicial candidates and forwards three names to the governor, who makes the selection from those. 

The panel has been a target for Republican lawmakers for years after a number of GOP-backed bills were deemed unconstitutional by courts.

State Question 845 sought to remove party affiliation restrictions and the prohibition that certain members not be attorneys or have family members who practice law. It also would change the length of time commissioners can serve and realign the district boundaries for where they can reside.

Supporters said it was necessary to better represent the Republican super majorities in the Legislature and reflect their control of all statewide elective offices.

Critics said the Legislature is attempting to make the panel overly partisan. 

The commission was established in 1967 by a voter-approved constitutional amendment following a judicial scandal where justices took bribes.

House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said some Oklahomans “absolutely love” the way the commission is structured while others are opposed to it altogether. He said lawmakers attempted to consider opinions from both sides while crafting the state question, but it ended up lacking support from either camp.

“Ultimately, one side felt it didn’t go far enough and wanted to abolish the JNC, and the other side felt like we should leave the JNC alone,” Hilbert said Tuesday night while at a GOP election watch party. “And so, you ended up with the state question not getting any support.“