Legislative leaders comment on Supreme Court's redistricting ruling

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has invalidated the initiative petition that aimed to radically alter how redistricting is done in Oklahoma.

Senate leaders comment on state Supreme Court’s redistricting ruling

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Senate leaders on Tuesday commented on the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling regarding redistricting.

“The court made the right call. Regardless, we’ve remained focused throughout on developing a redistricting plan that will help us do our job well. We are setting up a process that will allow us to work efficiently and effectively once we receive data from the 2020 Census,” said Senator Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle and chair of the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting.

“I’m pleased with the outcome in court. The Constitution charges the Legislature with redistricting and our planning is an effort to ensure we are up to that task,” said Senator Dave Rader, R-Tulsa and vice chair of the Select Committee on Redistricting.

“I’m pleased with the court’s ruling. This is nothing more than a power grab by out-of-state liberal activists. As I have said before, the Senate will handle this job in a professional and thorough manner. The Senate will announce more details soon about its redistricting process,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

Legislative redistricting takes place every 10 years following the release of U.S. Census data. The state Constitution provides that each legislative chamber oversees redistricting efforts to ensure districts are updated as necessary to reflect any population changes.

Speaker McCall responds to redistricting ruling by Supreme Court

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, issued the following statement today in response to the Oklahoma Supreme Court striking down Initiative Petition 420 concerning redistricting:

“This proposal has been misleading and overly-complicated from day one, and we are pleased the court recognized that by striking it down. The proposal is a solution in search of a problem given that courts have never found impermissible gerrymandering to have occurred in Oklahoma. We are continuing to move forward with the House’s proven redistricting process that involves the entire state, strictly adheres to the law and won bipartisan praise when last used a decade ago.” – House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka