Recent Articles

A corruption scandal reshaped Oklahoma’s courts. SQ 845 asks voters to roll back those reforms.

On Nov. 3, Oklahoma voters will decide State Question 845, which would change who can serve on the panel that nominates the state’s top judges. To understand what’s at stake, it helps to look back nearly 60 years to an Oklahoma judicial bribery scandal that Time magazine called one of the worst in American history.

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Weekly Wonk:  SQ 847 could undermine local school investments | Voters should look past the sales pitches for SQ 845, SQ 847 | Data on SQ 780 & SQ 781 | More

What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know. This Week from OK Policy

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2025 Census Data: Oklahoma remains entrenched among the nation’s top 10 poorest states

Data from the Census Bureau’s 2025 American Community Survey released Oct. 29 show that Oklahoma’s poverty rate was 14.4 percent, which means that nearly 1 in 7 state residents live in poverty. Oklahoma’s overall poverty rate in 2025 improved by half a percentage point compared to the previous year. For the second consecutive year, Oklahoma had the eighth highest poverty rate in the country.

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