Case Summary
On November 15, 2019, two Oklahoma voters filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Oklahoma challenging the constitutionality of a proposed ballot initiative (Initiative Petition 420) which sought to amend the state constitution to create an independent redistricting commission with the authority to draw maps for congressional and state legislative districts. Plaintiffs argued that the proposed ballot initiative violated the Oklahoma Constitution’s single subject rule and that the underlying amendment's eligibility requirements for serving on the commission violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
On February 4, 2020, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that Initiative Petition 420 was legally sufficient for placement on the ballot. The court's opinion stated that the initiative dealt with the "one general subject" of redistricting and therefore did not violate the Oklahoma constitution's single-subject rule, and that plaintiffs had failed to sufficiently demonstrate that the amendment's eligibility requirements contained clear violations of individuals' First Amendment rights.
Case Library
Oklahoma Supreme Court - MA-118406