Clarity Sought On Initiative Petition Process
Oklahoma law offers conflicting requirements to put initiatives on ballot
by Rick Green
Oklahomans who want to put an issue on the state ballot face a process so complicated that state officials often advise them to hire an attorney to study murky and sometimes conflicting language in the Constitution, statutes and court opinions.
If they do manage to navigate the legal hurdles, they have 90 days to collect enough voter signatures to put their proposal on the ballot. The number of signatures is so high that an expensive army of canvassers is required if the initiative drive is to be successful.
Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed a bill June 4 that sought to clarify the process. Secretary of State Chris Benge, whose office has produced a four-page flow chart on initiative procedures, hopes a similar bill succeeds next year.
“There’s not great clarity with the process and a lot of it has to do with when does the 90-day clock start,” Benge said. “I want to be able to tell people this is it, so that it’s very clear, no ambiguities there.”
Jonathan Pollnow, 33, of Stillwater, learned first-hand about the ambiguities. He wanted to give the public a chance to vote on a bill passed by the Legislature last session and signed by Fallin allowing utilities to seek new charges for people with rooftop solar panels.