Bill > SJR8

This Joint Resolution directs the Secretary of State to put a proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution before the voters for their approval or rejection, which would change how state senate districts are drawn. Specifically, the amendment would create forty-eight senatorial districts, with the nineteen most populous counties each forming a single-county district represented by one senator, and the remaining fifty-eight counties being combined into twenty-nine two-county districts, each also represented by one senator. When drawing these districts, considerations such as population, geographic shape (compactness), area, existing political boundaries, historical patterns, economic and political interests, and whether the territory is connected (contiguous) should be taken into account as much as possible. Senators would continue to serve four-year terms, and the election schedule would be set so that half of the senators are elected at each general election. The resolution also includes the specific wording for the ballot title that voters will see when they vote on this proposed constitutional change.