The Oklahoma State Constitution, the Charter of The City of Norman and state law give residents the power to file initiative petitions about legislative issues. With the required number of legally sufficient signatures, the initiative triggers a citywide public vote. 

To start the process, a resident files a copy of the initiative petition with the City Clerk. The petitioner then has ninety (90) days to collect the required number of legally sufficient signatures from registered City of Norman voters – equal to or greater than 25 percent of the number of votes cast in the previous mayoral election. Signed copies of a petition invoking a referendum upon any ordinance or resolution shall be submitted to the clerk or secretary within thirty (30) days after the passage or adoption of the ordinance or resolution. 

The deadlines regarding ordinances governed by the Local Development Act, 62 O.S. §§ 850 to 869 are different. Signed copies of a petition invoking a referendum upon any ordinance or resolution governed by the Local Development Act shall be submitted to the clerk or secretary within thirty (30) days after the passage or adoption of the ordinance or resolution.

The referendum petitioner has thirty (30) days to collect the required number of legally sufficient signatures from registered City of Norman voters – equal to or greater than 25 percent of the number of votes cast in the previous mayoral election.

Factors that make a signature legally sufficient include the signer’s address (including city and state or zip code) on the signature page, and information about the person circulating the page for signatures.

After the petitioner files the signatures with the City Clerk, the Clerk makes a physical count of the number of signatures on the petitions and then publishes a legal notice of the filing and the apparent sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. It allows 10 days for any City of Norman resident to protest the petition in District Court.

Until the City of Norman’s next mayoral election in 2025, petitions must have at least 6,098 legally sufficient signatures to trigger a public vote. The City Council chooses an available election date from the Oklahoma State Election Board’s approved list.

Petitions become law with a simple majority vote in the citywide election.