OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Former lawmaker Mike Reynolds filed a petition on Wednesday to request the release of the signatures and more time to review them.

He said the issues he has is with the entire petition process.

“I wouldn’t have spent any time dealing with this issue until I saw what was going on with the initiative process,” said Reynolds.

The former lawmaker admitted that he filed an Open Records Request trying to access signatures collected for State Question 820, commonly known as the proposal to legalize recreational marijuana. He filed it last week, but after not hearing back he decided to challenge SQ820.

He filed the petition to challenge on Wednesday (Aug. 7), but then picked up a flash drive on Thursday that had all the information he was looking for.

Reynolds criticized House Bill 3826, from 2020.

He said the language made it seem that anyone looking to review signatures had to first file a challenge.

“I’m supposed to contest the signatures and I can’t even see them,” said Reynolds.

The language reads:

“Upon appeal and if ordered or directed by the Supreme Court, the Secretary of State shall deliver the bound volumes of signatures to the Supreme Court.”

Charles McCall. Speak of the House, was the author of HB3826.

He said Reynolds has it all wrong.

“It was a simple, common sense bill requiring petition signatures to be matched with voter rolls to maintain election integrity,” said McCall, in a statement. “The bill won widespread support and did not restrict any public access to signatures or change petition verification timelines, as inaccurately alleged.”

Michelle Tilley is the campaign director for SQ820.

She is confident in the signatures that were collected.

Tilley expects the Supreme Court to view the Reynolds’ challenge as frivolous.

“This protest is a shot in the dark protest…very possibly just another delay tactic, hoping to slow things down,” said Tilley, in a statement.