Payne County was one of four to reject SQ 846, and among the strongest no votes on SQ 844

Payne County voters rejected State Question 846 on Tuesday even as the voter identification amendment passed statewide, making Payne one of only four Oklahoma counties to vote it down.

The county also rejected State Question 844 by a wider margin than all but five counties in the state. That measure, which would have changed how the state reimburses local governments for a manufacturing property tax exemption, failed in all 77 counties.

Results are pending certification by the Oklahoma State Election Board.

Fewer than one in four registered voters turned out

A total of 10,757 Payne County ballots included a vote on SQ 846 and 10,667 included a vote on SQ 844. Payne County had 45,642 registered voters as of Aug. 1, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board, putting participation on SQ 846 at 23.57 percent of registered voters.

Of the SQ 846 votes cast in the county, 9,137 came on Election Day, 1,332 during early voting and 288 by absentee mail.

Of the county's registered voters, 24,513 are Republicans, 10,990 are Democrats, 9,618 are independents and 521 are Libertarians, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board. All registered voters were eligible to vote on the state questions regardless of party.

Party registration varies sharply by district. House District 34 is 42.2 percent Republican, well below the countywide figure of 53.7 percent, while the Payne County portion of House District 32 is 65.9 percent Republican.

Statewide, 528,490 ballots included a vote on SQ 844 and 535,545 included a vote on SQ 846.

SQ 844: Lawmakers asked to rewrite the reimbursement formula later. Voters said no.

SQ 844 would have amended the state constitution to end the current requirement that the state reimburse school districts, counties and other local entities for property tax revenue they forgo when qualifying manufacturers claim a five-year ad valorem exemption. In its place, the Legislature would have been directed to establish the reimbursement method by statute. Oklahoma voters created the exemption program in 1985 through State Question 588.

The measure failed statewide, 73.75 percent to 26.25 percent. In Payne County it drew 19.60 percent support — the sixth-lowest share among the state's 77 counties.

Ahead of the election, The Stillwegian surveyed local elected officials and candidates on both questions and published every response Aug. 17. Of 19 who responded, 15 said they would vote against SQ 844, two said yes, one was undecided and one declined to answer that question.

Their explanations converged on local control.

"More erosion of local control," Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce said before the election. "844 would allow the state legislature to hand out tax breaks without reimbursing the counties and school districts most impacted by the state's decisions."

Payne County Assessor Jason Gomez, a Republican, said counties should not have to compete against one another for reimbursement dollars, and that local taxpayers should not be put at risk when the state chooses to offer an economic incentive.

Opposition crossed party lines and included Republicans who said they dislike the guarantee as it stands. State Rep. Jim Shaw, R-Chandler, whose House District 32 includes Perkins, said he disagrees with the constitutional obligation to reimburse in full, but opposed the change because cities and counties have no say in whether an exemption is granted in the first place.

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State Rep. Molly Jenkins, R-Coyle, said the measure would let lawmakers reduce reimbursements while leaving the underlying corporate exemption intact.

"I will not surrender a constitutional protection merely to give future Legislatures a blank check to decide the details later," Jenkins said.

Two said they would vote for it. Payne County Treasurer Lee Denney, a Republican, said the measure would spread reimbursements so that no single county receives a disproportionate share when manufacturers are recruited to the state.

Max Burchett, the Democrat running in House District 33, said he would vote yes because the measure would give the Legislature a way to update the reimbursement formula, and that how lawmakers used it would matter.

"I would expect the process to be transparent, based on reliable fiscal analysis, and designed to avoid placing an unreasonable burden on rural communities, growing counties, or public schools," Burchett said.

The survey pointed the same direction the vote did. Opposition was close to uniform across Payne County: all 30 precincts voted against SQ 844, none gave the measure more than 26.33 percent support, and every legislative district in the county rejected it by at least three to one.

The Stillwegian reported Aug. 19 that five companies claimed a combined $6,599,810 under the exemption in Payne County across tax years 2012 through 2025, about four-tenths of 1 percent of the $1.51 billion the state paid out statewide over that period. For tax year 2025, Payne County's $5,666 claim was the smallest among the 42 counties that received a reimbursement.

SQ 846: Stillwater said no to placing voter ID rule in constitution

SQ 846 places Oklahoma's existing voter identification requirement into the state constitution rather than leaving it in statute alone. It applies the requirement to all authorized methods of voting and directs the Legislature to enact laws setting the specific proof-of-identity standards.

Oklahoma has required proof of identity to vote since voters approved State Question 746 in 2010. Under that law, a voter can show a government-issued photo ID, show the free voter identification card the county election board mails to every registered voter, which carries no photograph, or sign an affidavit and cast a provisional ballot the county board reviews after the election.

The measure passed statewide, 54.61 percent to 45.39 percent. Payne County rejected it, 53.21 percent to 46.79 percent — the second-lowest share of support in the state, behind only Oklahoma County. Tulsa and Cleveland counties were the two others to vote it down.

In the survey, officials and candidates backed the measure 12-6, with one undecided. Every official who responded answered on SQ 846.

Supporters described it as locking in a requirement Oklahoma already has.

"This state question simply puts the requirement for identification in our state constitution preventing future legislatures from removing the requirement without a vote of the people," said state Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry.

Payne County Assessor Jason Gomez, a Republican, made the same point about what the measure does not change.

"SQ 846 does not create a new voter identification requirement," Gomez said. "Instead, it places Oklahoma's existing voter ID requirement into the Constitution, ensuring that any future effort to eliminate voter identification would require approval from the voters themselves rather than a simple act of Legislature."

Opponents said they were not disputing whether Oklahoma should require identification.

"My vote on SQ 846 is not about whether Oklahoma should require voter ID, because we already do," Stillwater Vice Mayor Amy Dzialowski said. "It is about whether that policy belongs in the state constitution."

Joyce called the measure a solution in search of a problem and said Oklahoma's election system already works. Stillwater City Council member Kevin Clark said it would not add new security measures or strengthen the voter verification process.

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State Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, started from the same premise as Gomez and drew the opposite conclusion.

"Under current law, voters are already required to provide identification, such as a driver's license or voter registration card, before casting a ballot," Ranson said. She said the measure would hand the Legislature control over what qualifies.

"The language of this measure would give the Legislature the authority to determine what forms of voter identification are acceptable, and no one could challenge its decision on the basis of the state constitution," Ranson said.

Ranson said she opposed the measure because she did not believe the change was necessary, adding that supporters point to voter fraud but that Oklahoma's rate does not demonstrate a need for it.

"I believe it could create additional barriers for eligible voters while addressing a problem that is not widespread," she said.

The county split geographically. In House District 34, which covers the core of Stillwater, voters rejected SQ 846 by 64.17 percent to 35.83 percent. Every other legislative district in the county backed it: 58.77 percent in the Payne County portion of House District 32, 53.97 percent in House District 35 and 51.47 percent in House District 33, which includes Cushing, Yale and Ripley. Ten of the county's 30 precincts produced a yes majority.

That divide ran along the same line as the survey responses. Every Stillwater city official who answered opposed SQ 846. No Payne County officeholder did: the county assessor, clerk, treasurer, sheriff and District 1 commissioner all said they would vote for it, and the District 2 commissioner was the survey's lone undecided.

When it becomes official, and what actually changes

Unless a contest or a petition for recount is filed, county election boards will certify results no earlier than 5 p.m. Friday. The Oklahoma State Election Board is scheduled to certify state and federal results, including the two state questions, on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026.

Under the Oklahoma Constitution, a measure referred to voters takes effect once it has been approved by a majority of the votes cast on it. Nothing changes at the polls as a result. SQ 846 does not alter what a voter must present to cast a ballot; it moves the existing requirement into the constitution, where it can no longer be repealed by the Legislature alone, and directs lawmakers to set the specific proof-of-identity standards by statute.