By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday sent Gov. Kevin Stitt a measure that would make it more difficult for residents to put things on the ballot.
Critics said the measure is an unconstitutional legislative power grab, while supporters said it is necessary to ensure more input from rural counties and prevent fraud.
Currently, state law requires 97,263 signatures to get statutory changes before the voters and 172,993 for constitutional amendments.
There are no restrictions on where the signatures are collected.
But Senate Bill 1027 would put limits on how many signatures could come from counties.
For a statute change, no more than 11.5% of votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election could come from a single county. That signature threshold increases to 20.8% for a constitutional amendment.
“This forces them out to 18 to 20 different counties,” said Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, the bill’s author. “It doesn’t even force them out to all 77 counties. We’re just asking that you go to 18 to 20 different counties to gather these signatures and get various opinions on whether or not this is something you want to do.”
Oklahoma has more than 2.3 million registered voters, of which 1.15 million voters cast ballots for governor in the 2022 general election, according to the Tulsa-based Oklahoma Policy Institute.
The bill’s requirements would exclude 2.2 million registered voters, or 94.4% of them, from signing a petition for statutory changes, according to the organization.
It would exclude 2.1 million registered voters , or 89.8% of them, from signing a petition for constitutional amendments, according to the organization.
The measure would prohibit the payment to circulators based on the number of signatures collected. It would require sources of payment to circulators to be disclosed and bar out of state interests from donating.
Bullard asked why Oklahomans would want “massive liberal organizations coming in here and shoving this stuff down your throat.”
It would require petition circulators to be registered Oklahoma voters. Finally, it would require a political appointee, the Secretary of State, to approve the gist, the brief summary of the ballot measure that voters see at the top of the signature sheet.
Critics say the process has been used to get needed reforms on the ballot, such as Medicaid expansion, medical marijuana legalization and criminal justice reform, when lawmakers declined to act.
The bill will “suppress and subvert what we used to know as democracy,” said Sen. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa.
Sen. Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, called the measure “a power grab.”
“It takes power away from everyday Oklahoma voters,” he said “It silences the voice of everyday citizens.”
Mann said the bill is likely unconstitutional and violates a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says out-of-state money from corporations can be spent on elections and ballot initiatives.
He said the artificial signature cap also discriminates against voters in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties, whose residents combined make up 40% of the state’s population, but can comprise only 23% of the total signatures collected.
“It violates the one person one vote principle,” he said.”
Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, said the measure establishes barriers that make it nearly impossible to get issues on the ballot.
Bullard said the state Constitution says laws shall prevent corruption in the referendum process.
“Let me be very clear,” Bullard said. “If you are willing to go to two or three counties to gather those signatures and completely willing to completely ignore 97.5% of the state counties, that’s corruption.”
The measure passed by a vote of 39-7.
Stitt said Wednesday that he will review the measure before deciding whether to sign it.
He said it is easier to get something on the ballot in Oklahoma than in other states, and lawmakers are trying to find a balance.
It would become effective immediately with Stitt’s signature.
