Members of the Oklahoma Senate have overwhelmingly voted to reform the state’s initiative-petition process to increase transparency and boost citizen participation.

“This bill is an example of standing against those who want to maintain a status quo, who do so screaming at the top of their lungs that you’re trying to take away their freedoms, when the reality is you are trying to expand and get more people involved in a process that is going to have long-term rippling effects on you and your grandchildren,” said state Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant.

Senate Bill 1027, by Bullard, requires that each initiative petition gist (the summary provided to voters) explain in basic words the effects of the proposition, avoiding specialized jargon. The gist must also indicate whether a proposed measure will have a fiscal impact, alerting voters that enactment of a measure may require diverting taxpayer funding from other uses or potentially increasing taxes.

The legislation also requires that any person circulating a petition be a registered voter in Oklahoma and display who or what entity is paying for the circulation of a petition.

SB 1027 establishes that no more than 10 percent of the total number of signatures to get an initiative petition on the ballot may come from any one county with more than 400,000 residents. The bill also states that no more than 4 percent of signatures shall come from any one county with a population of less than 400,000.

Bullard said that change will require campaigns to collect signatures from a minimum of around 20 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties. Currently, petition efforts can focus on only two to three counties with a heavy population.

Democratic lawmakers opposed the bill, objecting to most of its provisions.

“This is not about transparency,” said state Sen. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa. “This is about suppressing a process.”

“When we move the goalposts over and over again, we are making it impossible for the people to take action on the things they care about the most,” said state Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City.

Democratic lawmakers particularly focused their comments on the provision requiring the collection of signatures from a larger swath of the state, arguing that is a form of disenfranchisement of voters in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties, which are currently home to about 35 percent of registered voters but could contribute only 20 percent of signatures for a petition effort under SB 1027.

Democrats argued that violates court rulings regarding “one man, one vote.”

But Bullard noted that “one man, one vote” court rulings have applied to congressional and legislative redistricting efforts and have not been applied by courts to initiative-petition regulations.

He also noted that other states have imposed requirements similar to those proposed in SB 1027.

Bullard said the current system effectively disenfranchises Oklahomans living in most of the state since signatures may be collected from as few as three of Oklahoma’s 77 counties.

“The signatures can come out of 2.5 percent of those counties,” Bullard said. “That means 97.5 percent of the other counties are completely ignored.”

Bullard said he has never been asked to sign an initiative petition in Durant and said that is probably true for most members of the Senate who live outside of Oklahoma or Tulsa counties.

Goodwin countered that rural Oklahomans can still participate in the initiative-petition process.

“Did the author know he has every right to go and sign a petition, that he could actually just walk up and say, ‘Hey, I’d like to be engaged civically,’ and that the author could just sign his name if he’s a registered voter?” Goodwin asked. “Does he know that he can do that already?”

Bullard said that is true—provided people like himself are able and willing to drive more than 100 miles to get to the areas where initiative petitions are collecting signatures. He said that is an excessive burden for most Oklahomans.

Bullard also noted that seven states require signature gatherers to be registered voters in the state, and said courts have upheld those requirements.

SB 1027 passed the Oklahoma Senate on a 36-8 vote that broke along party lines with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed. The bill now proceeds to the Oklahoma House of Representatives.