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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
SENATE BILL 2168 By: Bullard
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to initiative petitions; amending 34
O.S. 2021, Sections 6, as amended by Section 2,
Chapter 275, O.S.L. 2025, and 8, as last amended by
Section 3, Chapter 275, O.S.L. 2025 (34 O.S. Supp.
2025, Sections 6 and 8), which relate to signatures;
modifying requirements for persons gathering
signatures; updating statutory language; updating
statutory reference; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 34 O.S. 2021, Section 6, as
amended by Section 2, Chapter 275, O.S.L. 2025 (34 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 6), is amended to read as follows:
Section 6. Any person who circulates a sheet of the petition
shall be a registered voter bona fide resident of this state for not
less than one (1) year and shall verify the signatures included on
any signature sheets he or she circulates by executing his or her
affidavit thereon and as a part thereof. The Secretary of State
shall cause to be affixed onto the back of the signature form an
affidavit, subject to change, for the circulator to verify the
signatures.
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State of Oklahoma, )
) ss.
County of ________ )
I, ______, being first duly sworn, say: That I am at least
eighteen (18) years old, a registered voter bona fide resident of
this state for not less than one (1) year, and that all signatures
on the signature sheet were signed in my presence; I believe that
each has stated his or her name, mailing address, county of
residence, and date of birth associated with his or her Oklahoma
voter registration record, and that each signer is a legal voter of
the State of Oklahoma and county of ______ or of the city of ______
(as the case may be). (Signature and complete address of affiant.)
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ________ day of ________ A.D.
20__.
(Signature and title of the Oklahoma notarial officer before
whom oath is made, and his or her complete address, commission
number and expiration date, and official Oklahoma notary public
seal.)
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 34 O.S. 2021, Section 8, as last
amended by Section 3, Chapter 275, O.S.L. 2025 (34 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 8) is amended to read as follows:
Section 8. A. When a citizen or citizens desire to circulate a
petition initiating a proposition of any nature, whether to become a
statute law or an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution, or for the
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purpose of invoking a referendum upon legislative enactments, such
citizen or citizens shall, when such petition is prepared, and
before the same is circulated or signed by electors, file a true and
exact copy of same in the office of the Secretary of State and shall
at the same time file a separate ballot title, which shall not be
part of or printed on the petition.
B. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to cause to
be published, in at least one newspaper of general circulation in
the state, a notice of such filing and the apparent sufficiency or
insufficiency of the petition, and shall include notice that any
citizen or citizens of the state may file a protest as to the
constitutionality of the petition, by a written notice to the
Supreme Court and to the proponent or proponents filing the
petition. Any such protest shall be filed within ninety (90) days
after publication. A copy of the protest shall be filed with the
Secretary of State.
C. Upon the filing of a protest to the petition, the Supreme
Court shall then fix a day, not less than ten (10) business days
thereafter, at which time it will hear testimony and arguments for
and against the sufficiency of such petition.
D. A protest filed by anyone hereunder may, if abandoned by the
party filing same, be revived within five (5) business days by any
other citizen. After such hearing the Supreme Court shall decide
whether such petition is in the form required by the statutes. If
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the Court is at the time adjourned, the Chief Justice shall
immediately convene the same for such hearing. No objection to the
sufficiency shall be considered unless it has been made and filed as
herein provided.
E. Signature-gathering Deadline for Initiative Petitions. When
an initiative petition has been filed in the office of the Secretary
of State and all appeals, protests, and rehearings have been
resolved or the period for such has expired, the Secretary of State
shall set the date for circulation of signatures for the petition to
begin but in no event shall the date be less than fifteen (15) days
nor more than thirty (30) days from the date when all appeals,
protests, and rehearings have been resolved or have expired.
Notification shall be sent to the proponent or proponents specifying
the date on which circulation of the petition shall begin and that
the signatures are due within ninety (90) days of the date set. Any
person who circulates the petition to collect signatures shall be a
registered voter in bona fide resident of this state for not less
than one (1) year and shall display a conspicuous notice in any
location where the person is collecting signatures whether the
person is being paid to circulate the petition and if so, by what
person or entity. Each elector shall sign his or her name and
legibly print his or her name, birth date, address, and county of
residence associated with his or her Oklahoma voter registration
record. An elector’s signature shall serve as an attestation that
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the elector read the gist in full or that the person who solicited
the elector’s signature read the gist in full to the elector. The
Secretary of State shall establish procedures by which an elector
can request to have his or her signature removed from the petition.
Any petition not filed in accordance with this provision shall not
be considered. The proponent or proponents of an initiative
petition, any time before the final submission of signatures, may
withdraw the initiative petition upon written notification to the
Secretary of State.
F. Signature-gathering Deadline for Referendum Petitions. All
signed signatures supporting a referendum petition shall be filed
with the Secretary of State not later than ninety (90) days after
the adjournment of the legislative session in which the measure
which is the subject of the referendum petition was enacted.
G. 1. Any person who circulates the petition to collect
signatures shall disclose to the Secretary of State any employer or
entity that is compensating the person for the circulation of the
petition. No compensation shall be based on number of signatures
collected, number of signature sheets submitted, or any other
similar incentives. No person or entity who does not reside or do
business in this state shall contribute to or compensate a person
for circulation of a petition. Any person or entity that employs a
person for circulation of a petition shall follow federal labor
standards; and.
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2. Any person or entity expending funds on the circulation of a
petition shall submit a weekly report to the Secretary of State that
details such expenditures and that attests that all donated funds
were received from sources in this state. The Secretary of State
shall publish such reports on the Secretary’s website until the vote
on the measure has occurred.
H. 1. The total number of signatures collected to meet the
requirements for an initiative petition or referendum petition,
amending the Oklahoma Statutes, from a single county shall not
exceed eleven and five-tenths percent (11.5%) of the number of votes
cast in that county during the most recent statewide general
election for Governor. The State Election Board shall determine the
number of votes cast in each county; and.
2. The total number of signatures collected to meet the
requirements for an initiative petition or referendum petition,
amending the Oklahoma Constitution, from a single county shall not
exceed twenty and eight-tenths percent (20.8%) of the number of
votes cast in that county during the most recent statewide general
election for Governor. The State Election Board shall determine the
number of votes cast in each county.
I. The proponent or proponents of a referendum or an initiative
petition may terminate the circulation period any time during the
ninety-day circulation period by certifying to the Secretary of
State that:
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1. All signed petitions have already been filed with the
Secretary of State;
2. No more petitions are in circulation; and
3. The proponent or proponents will not circulate any more
petitions.
If the Secretary of State receives such a certification from the
proponent or proponents, the Secretary of State shall begin the
counting and review process.
J. When the signed copies of a petition pamphlet are timely
filed, the Secretary of State shall file a copy of the proponent’s
ballot title with the Attorney General and, after conducting a count
and review of the filed, signed petition pamphlets, the Secretary of
State shall certify to the Supreme Court of the state:
1. The total number of signatures counted pursuant to
procedures set forth in this title; and
2. The total number of votes cast for the office of Governor at
the last general election.
The Supreme Court shall make the determination of the numerical
sufficiency or insufficiency of the signatures counted and reviewed
by the Secretary of State.
K. Upon order of the Supreme Court, it shall be the duty of the
Secretary of State to forthwith cause to be published, in at least
one newspaper of general circulation in the state, a notice of the
filing of the signed petitions and the apparent sufficiency or
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insufficiency thereof, and shall to also publish the text of the
ballot title as reviewed and approved or, if applicable, as
rewritten by the Attorney General pursuant to the provisions of
subsection D of Section 9 of this title and notice that any citizen
or citizens of the state may file an objection to the count made by
the Secretary of State, by a written notice to the Supreme Court and
to the proponent or proponents filing the petition. Any such
objection shall be filed within ninety (90) days after publication
and shall relate only to the validity or number of the signatures or
a challenge to the ballot title. A copy of the objection to the
count or ballot title shall be filed with the Supreme Court, the
Attorney General, and the Secretary of State.
L. Upon appeal and if ordered or directed by the Supreme Court,
the Secretary of State shall deliver the bound volumes of signatures
to the Supreme Court.
M. Upon the filing of an objection to the signature count or
ballot title, the Supreme Court shall resolve the objection with
dispatch. The Supreme Court shall adopt rules to govern proceedings
to apply to the challenge of a measure on the grounds that the
proponent or proponents failed to gather sufficient signatures.
N. If in the opinion of the Supreme Court, any objection to the
count or protest to the petition is frivolous, the Court may impose
appropriate sanctions, including an award of costs and attorney fees
to either party as the Court deems equitable.
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O. Whenever reference is made in this act section to the
Supreme Court, such reference shall include the members of the
Supreme Court, or any officer constitutionally designated to perform
the duties herein prescribed.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
60-2-2898 BLB 1/15/2026 2:10:04 PM