Ballot Language Unclear to Voters
Voters are struggling to read and understand some of the language used on Oklahoma ballots, especially in regards to city and county propositions. According to state law, city initiatives and referendums are supposed to include the general idea of the proposition within the language and should be understood by people who do not practice law. Municipal questions are also supposed to be impartial and no more then 150 words in length.
English teach Pat Davis was asked to critique for clarity a sample ballot. Roughly 20 seconds into an Osage County question on a lodging tax, she stopped, exasperated. "I'm maybe a third into this, and already I'm going back to re-read and thinking to myself, 'What? Now just a minute,' " said Davis, seated in her empty classroom during a preparation period. "I probably could go over here to the honors English class, and maybe half of them would know what 'dissemination' means. "They throw in double negatives. Why can't they just state what they want you to vote on, a simple yes or a simple no?"Davis believes that the lack of understanding at the polls can lead to voter apathy. One thing voters do not realize is that some of the initiatives are being cut down from hundreds of pages to be placed on ballots. The county board of secretaries says that they are put in an awkward situation. They are only allowed to give little to no explanation to ballot questions because the run the risk of being mistaken as either for or against the proposed question.
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