On March 9, the Oklahoma Senate unanimously passed SB 375. It moves the date of the non-presidential primary from the last Tuesday in June to the third Tuesday in June. Assuming it becomes law, it would also automatically move the declaration of candidacy deadline for non-presidential independent candidates a week earlier. In Oklahoma, non-presidential independent candidates don’t need a petition; they just file a declaration of candidacy and a filing fee.
SB 375 does not change the petition deadline for newly-qualifying parties, which would continue to be March 1.
I just don’t get the desire to move primaries earlier in the year. This one moving it forward one week is just annoying. I am a supporter of the idea that election seasons should be as short as possible. We don’t need 8-12 months of campaigning and election ads. Most people make up their minds about who they will vote for in the earliest days of the election and very little during the campaigns change their minds. Primaries should be held no earlier than 3 months before the general election. Using instant run-off voting in primaries would mean not needing a dedicated runoff and everything would run smoother.