OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) " The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Monday that voters can consider the so-called "Right to Farm" ballot initiative during the general election this fall, but some members of the state's highest court said state lawmakers should require that challenges to ballot measures be filed earlier. In a unanimous ruling, the nine-member court let stand a decision by Oklahoma County District Judge Patricia Parrish in May to dismiss the lawsuit. Passed by the Legislature last year, the measure calls for a statewide vote on whether the right to farm and ranch in Oklahoma shall be "forever guaranteed." "The Legislature has not provided any statutory timeframe for a pre-election constitutional challenge to legislative referendums," the opinion states. Opponents allege the measure could allow large farming corporations to set state agricultural policy instead of voters and lawmakers.

Source: New Zealand Herald August 08, 2016 19:07 UTC