The Oklahoma House has passed a proposal to raise the bar for getting initiative petitions on the ballot.
House Joint Resolution 1027 would require supporters to gather a percentage of signatures from registered voters of each congressional district. Current thresholds are based on votes cast in the last gubernatorial election and can come from anywhere in the state.
Rep. John Pfeiffer said a company in his district told him they don’t ask legislators for law changes, they pursue initiative petitions.
"'For less money, less time, less effort, we can put something on the ballot, hire people to collect signatures in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, get exactly what we want for a few thousand dollars in Facebook ads,'" Pfeiffer said. "So, what am I afraid of? People exploiting our system."
League of Women Voters Oklahoma President Jan Largent said the proposal dilutes the power of Oklahomans, who have used initiative petitions to push ahead with criminal justice reforms, medical marijuana legalization and perhaps Medicaid expansion.
"Maybe we get 50% of registered voters voting. So, that would increase the numbers greatly, which would make it almost impossible to get those numbers within a 90-day period," Largent said.
HJR1027 passed the House 66–30. It would go to statewide vote if it passes the Senate.
