Panel passes bill putting restrictions on Oklahoma voters ability to get measures on the ballot

OKLAHOMA CITY – A House panel on April 15 passed a controversial bill that would make it more difficult for residents to get issues on the ballot.

Senate Bill 1027 would limit the number of signatures that can be collected in each county to 11.5% of votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election for a statutory change. For a constitutional change, the number of signatures collected could not exceed 20.8% per county.

Critics say changing the state’s initiative petition process would dilute the voting power of those in urban counties, while supporters argue that it is important to ensure election integrity and transparency.

“It pushes out the signature gathering process to make sure that it’s not all confined to the metros,” said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, the House author.

Currently, signature gatherers aren’t going to some rural counties, Hilbert said.

“All this does is require people to go out to multiple counties instead of just sticking to the two urban metros to get their signatures,” Hilbert said.

Currently, it takes 92,263 signatures for a statutory change and 172,993 for a constitutional amendment to get on the ballot. Signature collectors can be paid and be from out of state. No financial disclosure is required. Money from out of state can be used.

Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, said in prior years, there have been other iterations of the bill trying “to hinder the public’s ability to engage in the process” after voters upheld the separation of church and state, modernized alcohol laws and legalized medical marijuana.

Bennett said the real issue is that urban voters are making decisions that rural lawmakers don’t like.

“I am sick and tired of 50% of Oklahoma being made to be less Oklahoman than rural Oklahoma, just because we live in a more dense space,” Bennett said.

The measure would also give the secretary of state, who is appointed by the governor, the power to remove the gist, the brief summary of the ballot measure that voters see at the top of the signature sheet.

Currently, the attorney general reviews the ballot title, the language on the actual ballot.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has checks on both the gist and the ballot title.

Any Oklahoman can file a challenge to the gist before signature collection begins.

Under Hilbert’s bill, circulators must be registered Oklahoma voters, disclose if they are being paid and the source of the payment.

Paid circulators could not take money from an entity outside Oklahoma or be paid based on the number of signatures.

The measure passed by a vote of 14-4. Its passage was met with boos from some members of the audience. The measure moves to the House for consideration.

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