Governor pushed for Oklahoma ethics board to act on issues with election reporting system

OKLAHOMA CITY — In an unusual move, Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote a letter leaning on a state ethics board ahead of a key vote to take action on the future of Oklahoma’s campaign finance system after it had been offline for months.

Stitt voiced his concern in a letter dated Thursday that the Oklahoma Ethics Commission should not be taking on additional responsibilities while not performing its “basic transparency function,” according to a letter obtained by Oklahoma Voice on Monday.

“Oklahomans deserve full transparency in our elections, yet the online Guardian system, the state’s critical tool for tracking campaign finance reports, has been down for months, plunging our state into unnecessary darkness since June,” he said in a letter. “This outage means everyday citizens cannot see campaign donations flowing to PACs, candidates, and other accounts.”

Friday’s meeting agenda included public hearings for several rule changes, and Stitt wrote it was “inappropriate” for the Commission to take on new authority. It is common for state agencies to propose rule changes every year for the Legislature to consider during session.




https://oklahomavoice.com/2025/12/22/governor-pushed-for-oklahoma-ethics-board-to-act-on-issues-with-election-reporting-system/