Effort from lawmakers to tighten petition requirements
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Three pieces of legislation among others could tighten restrictions on how Oklahomans push ballot initiative petitions, two are headed to Governor Stitt's desk.
"I put my faith in the people and not in the politicians," said Amber England Spokesperson for State Question 832 which would raise the minimum wage throughout the state.
England has been a spokesperson for several ballot initiatives over the years, some have passed and some have failed.
Going back to 2016 she started with the penny sales tax for education funding which led to the massive teacher walkout.
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"So, we sort of failed forward with that one," said England. "That ballot measure didn't pass. But we were able to immediately pivot to pass a plan, which was like holding the legislature accountable for not coming up with an alternative plan to fund dedication."
Soon after the failure one of the largest investments in education in state history was passed.
Senate Bill 815 is headed to the governor's desk now which would add a $750 filer fee and create another "data point" when checking the identity of each signature.
So far over the past couple of years Medical Marijuana was a passing ballot initiative, so was Medicaid expansion, etc.
"Signatures have been tossed out. I can't speak to any particular initiative petition that has happened with but I do think everybody would agree we want the right folks that are eligible to sign these," said Representative Mark LePak from Claremore.
Representative LePak co-signed SB 815 and said that $750 isn't too much to ask for, and checking the identity isn't too much to ask for.
"Think about how many people you might know named John and whatever zip code is the same. There's a search of the registration rolls and how many there might be there," said LePak
He argued that there have been problems in the past with the initiatives and the signatures but couldn't provide where, when, or with which initiative.
"They can't point to a single problem because there isn't one," argued England. "This system works and continues to work."
Besides SB 815 there is another piece of legislation aimed at tightening how Oklahoma runs its petition system, House Joint Resolution 1054.
Essentially HJR 1054 would require petitioners to get signatures from every county in the state. They would have to have gathered an 8% minimum from each registered voter in each county.
Then there is House Bill 1105 which would require petition filers to pay a $1,000 fee, which would be refundable if the petition meets the qualifications to be on a ballot. The legislation would also extend the timeline to protest a petition, from 10 days to 90.
"I don't remember us needing to pay a fee to petition our government," said Representative Mickey Dollens.
Dollens has been a staunch opponent of ballot initiative restrictions for several years.
"This ballot initiative process is a very precious tool that we have as Oklahomans to directly shape and influence public policy without having to have the approval of the state legislature," said Dollens. "What we're seeing is a calculated effort by lawmakers in the House and Senate to dismantle that ballot initiative process. To take power away from the people."
Dollens said that he's seen an increase in proposed legislation tightening on ballot initiative efforts since 2016.
"I felt like these punitive efforts and tactics to dismantle the ballot initiative ramped up in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe V. Wade and said that it was a state issue," said Dollens. "Since then, we've seen states that have the power of ballot initiatives, ordinary folks taking the issue of reproductive freedoms directly to the people."
"You know, signatures have been tossed out. I can't speak to how many on any particular initiative petition that has happened but it has," said Representative LePak.
Governor Stitt at Friday's presser was asked how he felt about petitions/ballot initiatives and said that he felt that there are outside influences that make it on the ballot.
"We're for the people making some of the decisions. We want the people to vote for their representatives. We want them to be more engaged in the process. Take for example the marijuana issue. I bet if you would bring it back to Oklahomans today and ask them the same question and show them what the medical marijuana industry has turned into in Olkahoma, they may vote differently," said Governor Stitt.
"I think what the legislature is concerned about is, you know, coming in and hiring outside people to come with stands at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds and collect signatures. People don't understand what they're signing up for. So just making sure that it's just fair for everybody in Oklahoma before you get something on a ballot," said Governor Stitt.
"Oklahomans need to be very aware of the freedoms being chipped away from them when it comes to our ability to directly shape and influence public policy through the ballot initiatives. There's still so much reform that needs to be done, such as ending gerrymandering, campaign finance reform, restoring reproductive freedoms, and many other issues that people can directly take into their own hands when the legislature refuses to listen," said Dollens.
HJR 1054 is still on the floor but HB 1105 and SB 518 are headed to the governor's desk to be signed.
"With these proposals and maybe others there is just so much added uncertainty in the process, that is making it difficult," said England. "But we are still going to every corner of the state to get signatures."
England said that they are adapting to HB 518 just in case it does get signed.
Representative LePak confirmed with KFOR that it shouldn't apply to any petitions that have started the process but will go into effect right away for any new petitions that haven't started the process yet.