Official English Wins in a Landslide in Oklahoma

November 3, 2010
Contact: Phil Kent
Phone: (404) 226-3549                 

ARLINGTON, VA – “Voters spoke decisively Tuesday on a ballot measure in Oklahoma to enact English as the official language of their state government,” says Jayne Cannava, executive director of ProEnglish.

“Our organization urged Oklahomans to vote ‘yes’ on State Question 751 to enshrine English as the official language in the state constitution,” Cannava said. “Unfortunately the United States is one of the few countries in the world without an official language. So having official English in a state constitution is important to protect it from being thrown out by activist judges who want to substitute their own rule for that of the people,” she added.

“The Oklahoma measure, originally introduced by state Rep. Randy Terrill and which overwhelmingly passed both houses of the state legislature, won by 76 percent of the vote,” Cannava notes. “This landslide vote confirms national polls reflecting that a vast majority of Americans – Democrat, Republican and Independent— reject costly and confusing multilingualism and support English as our nation’s official language. We welcome Oklahoma as the 31st state to pass such important legislation, and hope a new U.S. Congress will ultimately pass such enabling legislation for the federal government.”