The office says the Legislature must authorize a vote on a constitutional convention. It would not say whether legal action may be needed to stop the election ordered for April.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma attorney general’s office says Gov. Kevin Stitt does not have the authority to unilaterally place a constitutional convention question before voters, directly challenging the legal basis for an election Stitt ordered this week.
“The executive order and executive proclamation issued by the governor are wholly inconsistent with the Oklahoma Constitution,” the office said in a statement Friday to OK Politics Today. “The Legislature must pass a bill or joint resolution that must be signed by the governor to be referred to the people for a vote.”
Stitt’s executive proclamation calls for a statewide vote April 6, 2027, on State Question 848. A companion executive order directs the secretary of state to take the steps necessary to submit the question and creates a commission to recommend how a convention would operate.
The attorney general’s office said it had no comment on whether legal action could be required to prevent the election from proceeding or whether Attorney General Gentner Drummond would bring such an action on behalf of the state.
The office also did not say whether its position had been communicated directly to Stitt or his office.
Stitt contends his action is necessary because the Oklahoma Constitution requires voters to be asked at least once every 20 years whether the Legislature should call a constitutional convention. The question was last placed on the ballot in 1970.
“The Oklahoma Constitution is clear,” Stitt said when announcing the vote. “At least every 20 years, Oklahomans have the right to decide whether it’s time to call a constitutional convention.”
Article 24, Section 2 of the constitution says the convention question “shall be submitted to the people at least once in every twenty years.” The attorney general’s office says that does not allow the governor to bypass the Legislature.
Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton also criticized Stitt’s unilateral action this week, saying a constitutional convention is too consequential to pursue without consulting lawmakers. A legislative proposal passed the House earlier this year but stalled in the Senate amid a disagreement over how convention delegates would be divided.
Stitt’s proclamation schedules the election for April 6, pending any legal action to stop it.
