Recreational Marijuana May be on the Ballot in Oklahoma This November

A major step has been taken toward legalizing recreational marijuana in Oklahoma.

A group known as Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws announced in July that it had collected over 164,000 signatures on its petition to put marijuana legalization on the ballot in November, according to KFOR. The group only needed 95,000 signatures by August 1 for the measure to be added to the ballot.

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After review by the Office of the Secretary of State, it was determined that over 117,000 of the signatures were deemed to be valid. However, the signature counting process has been changed, leading to the process taking longer than it used to. As a result, Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws spokeswoman Michelle Tilley says the measure may not make it to the ballot:

The last petition Oklahomans voted on took 17 days to count 313,000 signatures. In contrast, we submitted half that amount and it has taken three times as long. This delay means the election board may not receive the green light to print the ballot in time for voters to vote on it in November.

Now the organization is filing an Application for a Writ with the Oklahoma Supreme Court in hopes that the court will intervene to ensure Oklahomans are able to vote on the measure in November.

The good news for those in favor of legalization is that if the measure doesn’t make it to the November ballot, it will be voted on at a later date.