OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — A change has been made by a State House committee to a bill that, if it becomes law, would change how things get on the ballot for a statewide vote.
FOX23 has covered this bill before when it was in the State Senate, but now a change has been made by a State House committee that hopes to avert future lawsuits that could kill it.
“This is one of the last measures we have for people to influence and voice policy decisions at the grassroots level and I urge a no vote,” said State Rep. Mickey Dollens (D-Oklahoma City).
Speaker of the House Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) presented Senate Bill 1027 to the House Elections Committee.
It’s meant to crack down on the initiative petition process that allows citizens to put things up for a statewide vote.
“There’s a lot of conversation in the pubic and in the media about one person, one vote. I believe this amendment negates any of those potential arguments because it sets the same percentage for every county,” Hilbert said.
One of the key parts of the bill when it passed out of the State Senate that raised concerns was the fact that when it comes to signatures needed to get something on the ballot, if SB 1027 became law, signature collectors could only get 10% of what they need from Oklahoma County and another 10% from Tulsa County.
The feeling of lawmakers representing rural communities is that the big cities have been pushing their will on other parts of the state when it comes to things like Medicaid expansion and medical marijuana.
“In the current system we have, frankly, it disenfranchises voters in the rural counties because they do not have the opportunity and they’re not participating in the initiative petition process because the signatures are just being gathered in the two metros,” Hilbert said.
Hilbert amended SB 1027 out of fear it violated the U.S. Supreme Court’s one person gets one vote ruling that’s been in place since the 1960s.
Under the new SB 1027, there are now caps on how many signatures can be collected in all counties.
The number of signatures depends on how many people in each county voted in the last gubernatorial election.
If a group is trying to make a statutory change to state law, the number of signatures would be capped at 11.5% of that county’s last vote.
If a citizens group is trying to add an amendment to the state constitution, the number goes up slightly to 20.8% of that county’s last vote for governor.
“What this bill does is pretty much guarantee that any future citizen-led ballot initiative guarantees an impossibility of actually making it to the ballot,” Dollens said.
Opponents said these changes don’t matter, those who live in Oklahoma City and Tulsa are still having their voices suppressed. Once the cap is reached, it will not matter how many want to sign, they can’t.
There are also concerns that 90 days to get signatures across the state in more rural areas isn’t enough time.
Sign Up
