Politically active nonprofits allowed to spend unlimited amounts to sway Oklahoma voters should face greater scrutiny, a gubernatorial task force on election and campaign finance threats declared in its report issued this week.

Outside spending soared to nearly $32 million in 2022, more than three times the $10.5 million spent in the 2018 election cycle, Oklahoma Ethics Commission records show. In many races, independent expenditures far surpassed what candidates themselves spent. Federal and state law allows nonprofit groups to raise and spend unlimited amounts on political messaging, often without disclosing their donors, so long as they aren’t coordinating with candidates.

Gov. Kevin Stitt was a frequent target of dark money advertisements leading up to the Nov. 8 general election, including one making an inaccurate claim that he commutes via helicopter from his north Edmond home to the state Capitol. During his February 2023 State of the State address, Stitt urged lawmakers to take up campaign finance reform and in November signed an executive order creating the Task Force on Campaign Finance and Election Threats.

The nine-member task force, which included former Republican party chairman A.J. Ferate and State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax, recommended a series of changes to require politically involved nonprofits to be based in Oklahoma and provide a phone number that is answered by a person located in Oklahoma for at least five hours per day. It also urged the Ethics Commission to ramp up enforcement of an existing residency requirement for treasurers of an independent expenditure entity.

The report proposes lifting contribution limits for candidate campaigns, which cap individual donations to campaigns at $3,300 per election and contributions to political action committees at $5,000, as a strategy to counter rising independent expenditure spending. The Ethics Commission could propose rules based on the report’s recommendations, which would take effect at the end of the legislative session in which they were considered unless the Legislature or governor objects.

“Oklahoma does not have a mechanism to reverse the long line of Supreme Court precedent, nor can we simply ignore it,” the report reads, referencing the high court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United vs. FEC. “But Oklahoma does have the ability to require more rigid reporting and accountability of the officers of the entity.”

Outside Political Spending Rises

Established through a vote of the people in 1990, the Ethics Commission has broad enforcement ability but has struggled to secure adequate funding from the Legislature over the past several years. The agency is operating on a $687,000 budget this fiscal year, nearly $100,000 less than it was appropriated in Fiscal Year 2016.

Executive Director Lee Ann Bruce Boone requested $1.6 million in new funding at the agency’s budget request hearing in January, noting that fee assessments and late filings have increased as the commission’s budget has declined.

“People just aren’t understanding what’s required,” Bruce Boone said. “If we can put a focus on being proactive, we could really reduce those numbers and make a real difference for the people we serve.”

The task force was complimentary of Oklahoma’s election system, noting that statewide uniformity in voting procedures and regular post-election audits reduce the likelihood of fraud. It recommended incremental changes, including mandating post-election audits in statute and outlawing the return of overseas ballots via fax machine, as well as informational campaigns to combat misinformation.

“Election officials have seen false claims that algorithms determine election winners or that voting devices contain secret wireless connections,” the task force report reads. “False claims such as these actually harm election integrity by undermining the public’s confidence in elections.”

Members also endorsed a ban on ranked choice voting in state and municipal elections, claiming the method could confuse voters and be costly to implement. A legislative proposal to outlaw the voting method has passed the House and is pending in the Senate General Government Committee.

The report urged caution on implementing open primaries, arguing the method often thwarts political party options and leads to two candidates with similar viewpoints appearing on a general election ballot. Oklahoma United, a voter advocacy group that supports open primaries, says it's working on a ballot initiative to bring the issue directly to voters but has not yet filed paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office.