Supreme court referee hears arguments on TABOR vote
Barbara Hoberock, Tulsa World
June 16, 2006
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Attorneys for those protesting a statewide vote
to limit government spending say supporters don't have enough valid signatures to get the measure on the ballot.
Supreme Court referee Greg Albert heard arguments Thursday. The hearings are expected to continue for
weeks before Albert issues a report to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which will decide the fate of the
initiative.
Supporters of the taxpayer bill of rights, or TABOR, hope to get the measure on the Nov. 7 general election
ballot.
The State Election Board must know the outcome of the protest by around Sept. 1 to print ballots, said
Michael Clingman, Election Board secretary.
State Question 726 would cap growth in government spending to the rate of inflation and population growth
with a certain portion of revenues above that level returned to taxpayers.
Oklahomans in Action, led by Tulsan Rick Carpenter, submitted 299,029 petition signatures, well above the
219,564 required to get the measure on the ballot.
In February, several Oklahoma businessmen filed a challenge to the petition.
Kent Meyers, an Oklahoma City attorney representing the protesters, said about 120,000 of the signatures
are invalid for a variety of reasons. Meyers said he needs to successfully challenge only about 80,000.
At least 50,000 signatures came from people who were not registered voters at the time they signed the
petition, Meyers said.
Another 7,200 signatures are invalid due to improper notarization, he said.
Thousands more signatures should be disqualified because they were obtained by people not legally able to
circulate an initiative petition, Meyers said. Information submitted to the IRS on behalf of some of those
circulating the petition lists out-of-state addresses, he said.
Meyers said communications between the TABOR backers suggest they were aware that out-of-state petition
circulators were being recruited.
Attorney Kieran D. Maye Jr., an Oklahoma City attorney representing the TABOR supporters, said clerical
errors made by the protesters will reduce the number of signatures tossed out.
The court also must consider the "good faith" intent to remain in Oklahoma when determining whether
signatures should be tossed out because a signature gatherer gave an out-of-state address, Maye said.
Maye said the protesters have a substantial hill to climb to meet the burden needed to invalidate the
signatures.
