The counting of signatures is over for State Questions 780 and 781. Secretary of State Chris Benge said his staff has completed the count on the criminal justice reform initiatives on Friday.
State Question 780 had a total of 111,159 signatures, while SQ 781 had 110,135 signatures. Both petitions needed 65,987 signatures to be considered for the ballot.
Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform began the initiative petition. SQ 780 reclassifies certain low-level, non-violent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Those crimes include simple drug possession and some property crimes.
SQ 781 would take the money saved from preventing low level, non-violent offenders from going to prison and use it for drug addiction treatment and mental health issues.
The Secretary of State sends the report over to the Oklahoma Supreme Court which will determine if the measures qualify for the General Election Ballot in November.
