Criminal justice group asks court to weigh in on signatures

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A group seeking to further reduce the state’s high incarceration rate says it has collected more than enough signatures to qualify the question for the ballot. However, they say Oklahoma Secretary of State Michael Rogers refuses to accept the signatures, so the group filed a lawsuit on Thursday that asks the Oklahoma Supreme Court to force Rogers to accept the signatures.

The bipartisan group of business, political, and religious leaders want to amend the state constitution to prohibit prosecutors from using previous felony convictions to enhance sentences in nonviolent cases. The Governor and some prosecutors have expressed opposition to the proposal.