Term limits in Oklahoma

Abstract

On September 18, 1990, Oklahoma voters became the first in the nation to limit the tenure of their state legislators. Since 1990, the movement has spread with term limits being applied to city, county, and state officials across the nation. Almost half of these states also elected to limit their congressional delegations; however, the United States Supreme Court in 1995 found such state-enacted congressional term limits violated the Constitution. Oklahoma is an important state to examine in the development of the term limit movement in the United States. In addition to being the first state to enact term limits, a term limit initiative of some form has appeared in the state at least three times since 1990. An analysis of these initiative campaigns partially illustrates the history of the national term limit movement. Here we examine the campaigns in Oklahoma as a portrait of the national movement and provide some indication as to the effects of term limits on politics in the Sooner State. To make this analysis easier for the reader, the term limit efforts will be identified as follows: Oklahoma I (1990), Oklahoma II (1994), Oklahoma III (campaign cut short in 1996), and Oklahoma IV (1997-98).