Oklahoma Representative John Montgomery (R-Lawton) has introduced HB 1159, which expands the amount of time for initiative proponents to circulate their petition from 90 days to 150 days.

Oklahoma Senator David Holt (R-Oklahoma City) has introduced SJR 13, to lower the number of signatures for statewide initiatives. Currently, initiatives to change the State Constitution need 15% of the last gubernatorial vote, and statutory initiatives need 8%. The bill would lower those to 10% and 2%. If the bill passed, Oklahoma would have the nation’s easiest statewide initiative for making statute changes. Currently Massachusetts has the easiest, 3% of the last gubernatorial vote. SJR 13, even if passed by the legislature, would not go into effect until after the voters had approved it. Thanks to E. Zachary Knight for this news.

Oklahoma State Senator David Holt (R-Oklahoma City) has introduced SB 318. It lowers the number of signatures needed for a newly-qualifying party to get on the ballot, and also lowers the number of signatures for an independent presidential candidate, or the presidential nominee of an unqualified party, to get on the ballot.

Currently, the party petition is 5% of the last vote cast. The bill lowers that to 2% of the last vote cast. Currently the independent presidential petition, and the petition for the presidential nominee of an unqualified party, is 3% of the last presidential vote. The bill lowers those to 2% of the last presidential vote. The bill also changes the petition deadline for the presidential petitions from July 15 to July 1.

If the bill were enacted, the 2016 petition requirement for new party petitions would be 16,967 valid signatures.

Senator Holt is the Majority Whip of the Senate. Thanks to E. Zacheery Knight for this news.

The Ninth Circuit will hear oral argument in Arizona Libertarian Party v Bennett on January 29, Thursday, in Tucson. This is the case in which the Arizona Libertarian and Green Parties challenge the voter registration form. In the section where applicants choose a party or independent status, the form lists the two largest political parties, each with their own checkbox. Then there is a third checkbox, which is labeled “other” and has a blank line that is less than an inch long. The three judges will be A. Wallace Tashima, M. Margaret McKeown, and Marsha Berzon. All three are Clinton appointees.

The parties argue that the form should list all the ballot-qualified parties, not just the two largest, which, of course, are the Republican and Democratic Parties. It is especially important that the form list the qualified minor parties, because the only way they remain ballot-qualified is by having registration of at least two-thirds of 1%. The law also lets parties stay on if they get 5% for President and Governor, but the registration alternative is what keeps the Libertarians on the ballot. The Green Party has never had registration of two-thirds of 1%, and consequently frequently goes off the ballot and then must petition to get back on again. If those parties were also listed on the form, the Greens would plausibly meet the registration test. UPDATE: here is a news story that mentions the hearing, and gives the exact location.