The collection of petition signatures began in March, Steele said.

He said Gov. Mary Fallin and lawmakers enacted legislation that will complement the reforms in the two state questions.

“We believe it is time to take a smarter approach to public safety,” Steele said.

Oklahoma has the second-highest incarceration rate in the country and leads the nation in the number of women incarcerated.

Kiesel said the current criminal justice system’s impact is one of the defining civil rights issues of our time and is particularly destructive to minorities.

African-Americans are incarcerated in Oklahoma at a rate five times higher than white people, while Native Americans are incarcerated here at a rate two times higher than whites, Kiesel said.

“The Hispanic and Latino population (in Oklahoma prisons) has risen 82 percent since 2005,” Kiesel said.

Even after leaving prison, former offenders are disenfranchised at many levels, Kiesel said.