Oklahoma Anti-Affirmative Action Initiative
What's at Stake
A challenge in the Supreme Court of Oklahoma to the certification of signatures submitted in support of an anti-affirmative action initiative.
Summary
On April 4, 2008, backers of a proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution that would end equal access and opportunity programs in the state asked the state supreme court to withdraw the measure from consideration. Supporters of the so-called Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative (OKCRI) - spearheaded by Ward Connerly's American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) as part of a national crusade against affirmative action - admitted that they had failed to collect the signatures needed to get the proposal on this November's ballot.
The request for withdrawal came shortly after Oklahoma voters challenged the petition before the state Supreme Court, alleging irregularities and questionable
practices in the collection of signatures by the OKCRI. The Oklahoma Supreme Court certified the ballot
measure鈥檚 signatures despite a report from Secretary of State M. Susan Savage indicating that the signature count 鈥渞esulted in an unprecedented
situation where large numbers of duplicate names and addresses were discovered
well into the signature counting process鈥.[and] it is a reasonable assumption
that not all duplicates have been discovered.鈥 Savage also noted that her report
to the court took much more time to compile than usual 鈥渄ue to the scope and
number of irregularities noted among the signature pages.鈥 Among the
irregularities Savage noted were numerous instances of circulators signing their
own petitions multiple times.
The 老澳门开奖结果's Racial Justice Program, 老澳门开奖结果 of Oklahoma and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund brought this challenge to preserve the integrity of the
electoral process in Oklahoma. We continue to find numerous deficiencies in our on-the-ground investigation of the OKCRI, consistent with the beliefs of the OKCRI's own backers that its petition is defective and should be withdrawn.
Legal Documents
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04/04/2008
Oklahoma Anti-Affirmative Action Initiative: Proponents' Motion to Withdraw
Date Filed: 04/04/2008
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03/07/2008
Oklahoma Anti-Affirmative Action Initiative: Signature Challenge Complaint
Date Filed: 03/07/2008
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02/07/2008
Oklahoma Anti-Affirmative Action Initiative: Secretary of State's Report on Signatures
Date Filed: 02/07/2008
Press Releases
Opponents of Equal Opportunity Seek To Withdraw Their Own Ballot Measure
老澳门开奖结果 of Oklahoma Challenges Anti-Civil Rights Ballot Measure