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Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform - State Questions 780 & 781

Reform at the Root: Passing State Questions 780 & 781

Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform

Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) is a diverse coalition of business, education, government, and nonprofit leaders seeking to stop Oklahoma’s historic incarceration crisis. Through public policy and advocacy, OCJR plays a large role in helping reform Oklahoma’s broken criminal justice system.

Challenge

Oklahoma has one of the highest overall incarceration rates in the nation and has the highest incarceration rate for women, which costs taxpayers nearly $500 million annually. This drains significant resources away from investments that could be used to help grow communities, develop economic incentives, and launch drug treatment.

Insights

OCJR formed a coalition of community leaders and experts from across the state. They determined that the only way to reduce the prison population, save money, and make Oklahoma communities safer was by addressing the root causes of crime and identifying a way to help people who have committed low-level offenses turn their lives around.

Solution

OCJR launched a ballot initiative, State Question 780, that reclassified certain low-level offenses (drug possession, property offenses) as misdemeanors instead of felonies. They also launched State Question 781 that invests cost savings from 780 into drug and mental-health rehabilitation programs, education, and job training.

  • We managed overall communications for the campaign 
  • We identified and activated supporters 
  • We helped craft the overall messaging and strategic direction of the campaign

Results

We successfully passed State Question 780 & 781. 

  • We secured a total of 756 media placements reaching 659,093,992+. 
  • We provided web maintenance, as well as community management of OCJR’s social channels for 6 months. 
  • We created 619 posts,  125 graphics, and 12 videos.

See Our Work