City Proposition 2 asks voters to amend candidate filing, election dates

James Beaty, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·2 min read

Sep. 8—City of McAlester Proposition 2 in the Sept. 12 Special Election concerns city council and mayor candidate filing dates, as well as city council election dates.

At issue are candidate filing and election dates mandated in the McAlester City Charter as opposed to the candidate filings and election dates approved by the Oklahoma State Election Board.

"The dates our City Charter has for city elections are not in line with dates when the state says city elections can be held," said McAlester Mayor John Browne.

"So the question is, can we change the election dates in the City Charter to match the dates the state allows us to have elections," Browne said.

Incorporated cities and towns in Oklahoma cannot hold elections whenever they choose.

Since state election workers are involved through their county election boards and the Oklahoma State Election Board, the state mandates that certain types of elections can only be held on specific dates.

It's likely that when the current city of McAlester municipal election dates were included in the McAlester City Charter, the election dates approved by the state were not considered an issue, Browne said.

"They probably didn't think that the state over recent years has reduced the dates you can have elections," Browne said. "Since that time, the dates have changed."

Passage of Proposition 2 is needed to put the city council candidate filing and election dates, as well as the mayoral candidate filing date in the McAlester City Charter in compliance with the dates allowed by the Oklahoma State Election Board, the mayor said.

Proposition 2, as written on the Election Day ballot, states:

"This proposal seeks to amend the Charter of the City of McAlester, Oklahoma, by changing the dates upon which city elections will be held for members of the City Council from March in even numbered years to February in even numbered years and adjusting candidate filing dates to match the requirements of state law.

"The filing for the office of mayor will be changed from July of even numbered years to June of even numbered years but the actual date of the election will remain the same.

"The details regarding implementation of this proposition can be found in Resolution No. 23-17. Shall the proposition be approved?"

A "yes" vote is to approve the proposition, while a "no" vote is against passing it.