The following is a dispatch from Cindy Alexander of Indivisible Stillwater and one of the main forces behind the gathering of signatures on for SB832, the “Raise the Wage” petition campaign.
The 2024 Legislative session dealt multiple blows to direct democracy, voting, and the electoral process. Here is an overview of the bills that passed.
HB 1105
HB 1105 was introduced as a shell bill. Shell bills are introduced with only a vague title and no content. They are amended later in the session and allow Representatives to introduce legislation after the established deadline. The Senate does not allow shell bills.
As introduced, the title of HB 1105 was “The Oklahoma Initiative and Referendum Reform Act of 2023”. The content was a blank slate to be filled in with text later. HB 1105 was referred to the House Rules Committee where the desired content was added by amendment. The amended bill passed out of committee then passed the House.
The bill was sent to the Senate and referred to the Senate General Government Committee which passed the measure after striking the title. Striking title is a procedural move that allows legislators to vote to move a bill forward even if doesn’t have enough votes to pass in its current form. A bill with a struck title cannot be enacted unless and until it is amended to replace the title.
Because different versions passed the two chambers, a conference committee was named to iron out the differences. The bill passed out of the conference committee then passed both chambers and was signed by the Governor.
HB 1105 imposes a $1,000 fee to file an initiative or referendum petition. The fee is reimbursed if the measure makes it to the ballot. The measure lengthens the two challenge periods from 10 days each, to 90 days each. Signatures cannot be collected on initiative petitions until all constitutionality challenges have been resolved. Election dates cannot be set until signature validity challenges have been resolved.
Increasing the window for the 2 challenge periods makes the already long and arduous process of getting an initiative petition on the ballot at least 6 months longer, and probably considerably more expensive. To make matters worse, HB 1105 contained an emergency clause which means the citizens of Oklahoma were denied their constitutional right to file a referendum petition to prevent the bill from being enacted.
SB 518
The other bill pertaining to direct democracy was SB 518 which was a carryover bill, introduced in 2023.
After passing the Senate Judiciary Committee it passed in the Senate and was referred to the House Civil Judiciary Committee where it lay dormant, for a whole year, until late March of this year, when it was moved to the House Rules Committee. It was promptly taken up and passed by the Rules Committee and soon after, was passed by the House then signed by the Governor.
The measure imposes a $750 filing fee, doubles the window for the first challenge period from 10 to 20 days, and raises the requirements for validating petition signatures by requiring that four out of five data points exactly match the voter registration file. Previously the law required that three data points match exactly. When the bill was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee, the bill’s original author, Sen. Julie Daniels, admitted that there had been no reported complaints with using three data points for signature validation.
SB 518 also contained an emergency clause, another flagrant political weaponization of its use designed to restrict our constitutional right to file a referendum petition.
In addition to restricting our constitutional rights to direct democracy, the Legislature passed 2 bills and one joint resolution pertaining to voting and elections, HB 3511, HB 3156, and SJR 23
HB 3511
HB 3511 increases the length of time between candidate filing and special elections, and the length of time between the various special elections. It allows absentee ballot applications from military or overseas voters for special elections for state offices to be sent “as soon as practicable”, instead of by the previously required deadline. The bill was requested by the Election Board which was having a hard time meeting deadlines.
HB 3156
HB 3156 prohibits the use of ranked choice voting in Oklahoma. The measure also voids current or future local ordinances allowing ranked choice voting, voids elections conducted using ranked choice voting, and authorizes civil action for violations of the measure.
SJR 23
SJR 23 was introduced in February, referred to the Senate Rules Committee where it remained, not heard before the deadline for committee action, and therefore not making the deadline for a floor vote which would allow the resolution to cross to the second chamber.
On the very last day of the session, it was withdrawn from the Rules Committee and sent directly to the Senate calendar where all in one day, it was voted upon, passed, sent to the House, put on the House calendar without going through the committee process, voted upon and passed.
See how easy it is for legislators to put a state question on the ballot? If the citizens want to do it, well that’s another story.
SJR 23 will put a state question on the ballot to amend the Constitution to say only instead of all citizens of the United States who are otherwise qualified may vote. This may seem like little more than a waste of time and taxpayer dollars when in fact, it is a calculated move to restrict voter access.
A study recently published by the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland shows that one in ten voting-age citizens in the U.S. cannot easily access documents to prove their citizenship. About 2% of voting-age citizens don’t have any form of proof of citizenship, and quoting here, “this disproportionately affects marginalized racial and ethnic groups”.
Opposing legislation often feels overwhelming and may seem useless. It is, none-the-less, important to keep fighting, and be sure that those elected to serve know that we are watching. The Direct Democracy Team makes it easy for you to send an email or make a phone call. Please continue to do so when asked.
It is especially important to fight to preserve our ability to use direct democracy. The time spent circulating and supporting initiative petitions is well spent because there is a good chance of a positive outcome.
As always, feel free to reply with questions or comments. Please reply immediately if you have not signed the initiative petition for SQ 832, I will help you find a petition before time runs out.
Cindy
