Note: The Brennan Center is not a participant in this case.
Case Background
On November 15, two Oklahoma voters filed a protest with the Oklahoma Supreme Court challenging the ballot language of Initiative Petition 420, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have created an independent redistricting commission to draw congressional and state legislative maps.
The plaintiffs argued that the ballot language insufficiently described multiple aspects of the proposal, including the selection of commissioners, the eligibility requirements, the ban on partisan gerrymandering, and the partisan makeup of the commission. As a result, plaintiffs asked the court to declare the gist of Initiative Petition 420 legally deficient.
Oral argument took place on January 21, 2020. On February 4, 2020, the court struck the gist from the 2020 ballot.
Documents
Oklahoma Supreme Court
- Application and Petition to Assume Original Jurisdiction (November 15, 2019)
- Plaintiffs’ Brief in Support of Application (November 15, 2019)
- Defendants’ Brief in Response to Application (December 5, 2019)
- Plaintiffs’ Reply Brief (January 6, 2020)
- Defendants’ Sur-Reply Brief (January 8, 2020)
- Opinion (February 4, 2020)