Oklahoma Supreme Court overturns restrictions on citizen-led ballot initiative petitions

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has overturned restrictions on the ballot measure process, ruling that Senate Bill 1027 is unconstitutional in its entirety.

The ruling

The court voted 5-4 to strike down the law, which had placed caps on how many signatures could be collected in each county and who could collect them. The entire bill, including every new restriction, was deemed unconstitutional.

Justice Noma Gurich wrote the majority opinion. She stated that the caps pose broad First Amendment problems and do not accomplish the stated goal of rural participation.

"We agree with Petitioners that the caps pose broad First Amendment problems. As an initial matter, the caps do not accomplish the stated goal of rural participation," Gurich wrote. "The caps prohibit the collection of any signatures beyond a specified percentage of a county’s latest gubernatorial votes. In doing so, the caps prohibit legal voters from signing petitions once their county’s signature maximum is met. This restriction will be most severe in the least populated counties."

Gurich wrote that the signature caps impede the right of citizens to speak and assemble under the Oklahoma Constitution, describing the right of citizens to pursue referendum petitions as "sacred."

Background

The Oklahoma Constitution allows voters to place measures on the ballot for a referendum vote after gathering signatures from 8 percent of the voting population, or 15 percent of the population for constitutional amendments. The law capped the percentage of signatories from any one county at 11.5 percent of total voters in the most recent gubernatorial race.

Bill sponsors claimed the caps were meant to protect rural voters, something Justice Gurich rejected. She wrote that the legislature’s goal of "enhancing rural representation does not justify severely burdening fundamental First Amendment rights."

Reaction

Rep. Suzanne Schreiber, D-Tulsa, said she was relieved to see the measure struck down and affirmed every Oklahoman’s right to be heard.

"This decision preserves the right that Oklahomans have exercised when their state government refused to solve specific problems, from term limits to medicaid, Oklahomans took matters into their own hands and exercised their ability to put an issue to the vote of the people," Schreiber said.

Republican lawmakers who passed the bill pointed to topics that went to a statewide vote as part of the reason why crackdowns should happen, according to Fox 23. They argued urban areas where more voters are pushing topics like criminal justice reform, marijuana, and Medicaid expansion on rural areas who do not value these things, and they believe a vote on open primaries, abortion, and a ban on gerrymandering is in the works.

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Sources

• democracydocket.com: In win for voters, Oklahoma Supreme Court overturns restrictions on ballot measures - Democracy Docket
• okwnews.com: SB1027 Ruled Unconstitutional - OKW News
• fox23.com: In Depth: OK Supreme Court strikes down law restricting citizen-led initiative petitions

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.