Group submits signatures to put justice reforms on ballot

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – An Oklahoma group says it has collected more than 220,000 signatures to send two criminal justice reform measures to voters in November.

Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform on Thursday delivered the petitions to the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s office, which will verify the number of signatures.

The first proposal would reclassify some drug and property crimes as misdemeanors instead of felonies. The second would require the state to estimate the resulting cost savings and direct that money toward crime prevention efforts, such as rehabilitation programs, education and job training.

The group needs 65,000 signatures for each measure to be placed on the ballot. Former Oklahoma House Speaker Kris Steele says the group has collected more than 110,000 signatures on each measure.