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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
HOUSE BILL 1711 By: Hill
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to elections; authorizing certain
persons to request ballots be sent by Internet
delivery; requiring State Election Board t o prescribe
form; providing for eligibility and transmission of
request; providing for delivery of ballot and ballot
materials; providing for return of ballot to county
election board; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 14-201 of Title 26, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follo ws:
A. A registered voter who swears or affirms that the voter is
physically unable to vote in person at the precinct on the day of
the election because the voter is:
1. Physically incapacitated; or
2. Charged with the care of another person who is physic ally
incapacitated and who cannot be left unattended;
may request a ballot and balloting materials be sent to the voter by
Internet delivery. The Secretary of the State Election Board shall
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prescribe a form to be used for the request, although any request
setting forth substantially the same facts shall be valid.
B. The request shall be signed by the voter or signed by a
witness at the voter 's direction if the voter is unable to sign his
or her name, and shall be transmitted to the secretary of the county
election board. The person transmitting the request on behalf of
the voter may be anyone of the voter 's choosing who is at least
sixteen (16) years of age; provided, the person is not employed by
nor related within the third degree of consanguinity or af finity to
any person whose name appears on the ballot. The person becomes the
voter's agent for purposes of voting by absentee ballot. The
voter's request shall be accompanied by a sworn statement by a duly
licensed physician. The request shall attest to the fact that the
voter is in fact unable to vote in person at the appropriate
precinct on the day of the election because of a physical
incapacity.
C. Upon receipt of the voter 's request and accompanying sworn
statement, the secretary of the county ele ction board shall transmit
the ballot and ballo ting materials to the voter by I nternet
delivery.
D. The voter or voter's agent shall be required to mark the
ballot in ink or other manner as prescribed by the Secretary of the
State Election Board; seal the ballots in the plain opaque envelope;
fill out completely and sign the affidavit, such signature to be
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notarized at no charge by a notary public; seal the plain opaque
envelope inside the envelope bearing the affidavit and return both
envelopes, sealed in side the return envelope, by hand delivery,
United States mail or by a private mail service, provided such
service has delivery documentation, to the county election board.
No person who is a candidate for an office on the ballot or who is
the chair or treasurer of the campaign of a candidate for office or
who is related within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity
to a candidate on the ballot may witness any absentee ballot
affidavit.
E. The ballot shall not be notarized by any person whose name
appears on the ballot as a candidate or by any campaign chairperson
or campaign treasurer for a candidate whose name appears on the
ballot.
F. Any voter or voter's agent who hand delivers his or her
ballot as provided in subsection D of this section shall provide
proof of identity to the county election board and shall hand
deliver the ballot no later than the end of regular business hours
on the day prior to the date of the election. For purposes of this
section, "proof of identity" shall have the same m eaning as used in
subsection A of Section 7 -114 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes .
G. Upon return of the absentee ballots, the secretary of the
county election board shall cause the ballots to be processed in the
same manner as is prescribed for other absentee ballots.
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SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
58-1-5001 LRB 12/22/20