Quote Originally Posted by OKCRT View Post
Then what is the good of having a deadline to get the petition in? Maybe they need to change the deadline date? More foolishness IMO.
It's way more complicated than that. So after an initiative petition is initially filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State and the Attorney General, that kicks off a process of variable length before the circulation of petitions and signature collection can even begin. The SoS sets the SQ and Petition numbers, notifies the governor and election board, and then publishes a public Notice of Filing - allowing up to 10 days for any citizen to protest the constitutionality of the petition. If someone does protest, then that begins another 10-day (minimum) process to allow for hearings and a decision from the state Supreme Court. Once any legal controversy is settled, then the SoS has up to 30 days to set a date to begin the circulation period to gather signatures. The petition has a maximum of 90 days from that date to collect and return signatures. The full process is outlined here: https://www.sos.ok.gov/gov/petition_process.aspx

This is all enshrined in law. As a result of all of that, you can't just change the deadline. You have to start the whole process early, but that won't even guarantee an early petition deadline if there are multiple legal challenges after filing. The petitioner has little control over when their final deadline is set.

EDIT: Ha! Jerrywall beat me to the punch. I didn't type fast enough! Lol.