State Question 759: Does Oklahoma Still Need Affirmative Action?

• Logan Layden
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  Logan Layden is a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma. He is a native of McAlester, Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009. Logan spent three years as a state capitol reporter and local host of All Things Considered for NPR member station KGOU in Norman and six years as a reporter with StateImpact from 2011 to 2017. Most recently, he was news director for McAlester Radio before returning to public radio in 2020.

Logan Layden / StateImpact Oklahoma

State Sen. Rob Johnson (R-Kingfisher) was one of the authors of the resolution that led to State Question 759.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in an affirmative action case that deals with the ability of the University of Texas to consider race when admitting students.

Oklahoma is in an affirmative action battle of its own, but this one will be decided by voters when they weigh in on State Question 759. A ‘yes’ vote would mean the state would be disallowed from taking race into account when making hiring decisions and negotiating contracts, for example.

The initiative has sparked a debate over the fundamental fairness of the practice and whether discrimination is still a major problem in Oklahoma.

But opponents worry that the unintended consequences of 759’s passage could include making college more difficult for minority students to afford.

StateImpact’s 2012 Ballot Question Handbook

Oklahoma’s economically important state and county ballot questions — explained.