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September 15, 2000
English-only ballot
measure not ok in OK HispanicVista.com
WASHINGTON — A proposed measure to make English the offical language of Oklahoma was denied a spot on the November ballot because it is mired in the courts by a
Tulsa professor and others opposing the issue.Leaders of U.S. English, a Washington-based group which collected over 100,000 signatures to qualify the measure on the ballot, expressed outrage at Oklahoma’s secretary
of state’s decision. “Over 100,000 citizens of Oklahoma have asserted that they want to vote on whether or not this measure should become law, and they did it with the reasonable expectation that it would not be
stymied by some legal technicality,” U.S.English Chairman Mauro E. Mujica said. “This action is intended solely to subvert the democratic process.” Under Oklahoma law, once the secretary of state certifies
signatures as valid, the governor has until 60 days before an election to officially guarantee a citizen initiative access on an upcoming ballot. Additionally, Oklahoma law allows any citizen to challenge a petition
before the state Supreme Court.
Since the current challenges have yet to be heard by the Court, the initiative has moved past the 60 day deadline for placement on the ballot in November, argued Mujica.
“When the Oklahoma State House passed this measure overwhelmingly three times, a single state Senator, Kelly Haney, bottled up the popular measure in his committee. Now, the people of Oklahoma are being insulted by a
similar exercise, and exasperated Mujca said. U.S. English has managed to place the measure on several ballots in other states. |
