Oklahoma is one of 20+ states that gives its citizens the ability to place initiatives on the Oklahoma ballot or to veto newly-passed legislation—a fundamental constitutional right. But Senate Bill 1027 (SB 1027) threatens to change that.
So, what’s SB 1027 really about?
On the surface, the bill makes some procedural tweaks. It would give the Secretary of State more authority over the petition and referendum process, and it would require petitioners to gather signatures from a broader range of counties across the state—not just from major population centers like Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
But here’s the problem: expanding the geographic signature requirement makes it significantly harder for everyday people to launch a petition. That added burden could discourage or even prevent grassroots campaigns from getting off the ground in the first place.
How SB 1027 threatens constitutional reform in Oklahoma
There’s a long-running effort by some lawmakers who’ve never liked citizen petitions. They know that trying to repeal the process outright would be wildly unpopular—so instead, they find ways to chip away at it little by little. SB 1027 wouldn’t take away the citizen’s right to petition, but it would make participating in it less accessible and less effective.
As a former Oklahoma congressman who took the oath of office and vowed to uphold the constitution, when I take a close look at SB 1027 I see a bill full of red flags. SB 1027 would erode the citizen’s right to change the Oklahoma constitution through petitioning. The bill has seemingly come out of nowhere, as there seems to be no significant public demand or call for it. It looks like yet another attempt to weaken the tools that allow Oklahomans to make their voices heard.
