The Latest: Petition would create redistricting commission

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Latest on a plan to create a bipartisan redistrict commission in Oklahoma (all times local):

3:20 p.m.

The founder of a group that wants a bipartisan commission to redraw Oklahoma’s legislative and congressional districts says the plan would help stop gerrymandering and prevent politicians from picking their own voters.

A coalition of groups filed an initiative petition with the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Office on Monday that seeks a statewide vote to amend the Oklahoma constitution and transfer redistricting duties from the Legislature to a citizens’ commission.

Andy Moore, founder of the grassroots group Let’s Fix This, says the current system allows lawmakers to draw district boundaries to suit their own needs in order to get re-elected.

Moore says that under the proposal, district boundaries would be drawn by a nine-member commission chosen by a panel of retired judges in a process that would be open and transparent.

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2:10 p.m.

A group trying to prevent partisan gerrymandering of Oklahoma’s legislative and congressional districts is seeking a public vote on whether to create a new bipartisan commission to redraw district boundaries.

A group that includes the president of the Oklahoma League of Women Voters and Let’s Fix This, an organization aimed at helping Oklahomans engage politically, filed its petition Monday with the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Office.

The group is seeking to gather enough signatures to place the proposed constitutional amendment on a statewide ballot.

Under the plan, the power to draw both legislative and federal congressional districts would be transferred from the Legislature to a bipartisan commission. The commission would include an equal number of Republicans, Democrats and representatives unaffiliated with either party selected by a group of retired judges.