A citizen group hoping to expand the Saline County Commission from a three person board to a five person board turned in petitions on Tuesday morning.

Members of the group Saline County Citizens For Responsible Government attended the televised county commission meeting at 11:00, and afterwards turned in their petition to put the issue on the ballot in November.

Back in April, the group asked Saline County Commissioners to put the issue on the November ballot. Commissioners did not support the idea, and refused. Without commission approval, the group began the petition drive.

The group believes that with an expanded commission conversation among the commissioners will likely be more diverse, resulting in more thought-out decisions. Also, in between meetings two commissioners would be able to talk to one another about county business without violating the open meetings act.

The group needs 1,647 valid signatures to have it put on the November ballot. They turned in over 2,800 signatures on Tuesday.

The signatures must now be validated. If at least 1,647 of them are valid, voters in November will be allowed to decide the issue.