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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
HOUSE BILL 2103 By: Turner
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to elections; creating the Oklahoma
Restoration of Voting Rights Act; modifying voting
rights of convicted felons sentenc ed to
incarceration; authorizing the court to notify
certain persons of their loss of voting rights for a
certain period of time; authorizing the Secretary of
the State Election Board to develop certain programs
to educate certain persons about the require ments of
this act; authorizing the Secretary of the State
Election Board to promulgate rules; amending 26 O.S.
2011, Section 4-120, which relates to voter
registration; modifying reasons for cancellation of
voter registration; requiring the Department of
Corrections to transmit certain lists to the State
Election Board; stating information to be included on
certain lists; requiring the Secretary of the State
Election Board to notify county election boards of
the cancellation of certain registrations; requir ing
the Secretary of the State Election Board to notify
county election boards of the reinstatement of
certain persons eligible and registered to vote;
providing that certain persons not be civilly liable
for certain actions; providing retroactive
application to certain persons eligible to vote;
granting certain authority to State Election Board
and State Board of Corrections; repealing 26 O.S.
2011, Section 4-120.4, which relates to cancellation
of registration of convicted felons; providing for
codification; providing for noncodification; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follow s:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Oklahoma
Restoration of Voting Rights Act ".
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 4 -101.1 of Title 26, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Before accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a
felony, and before imposing sentence for such a felony after trial,
the court shall notify the defendant that conviction will result in
loss of the right to vote only if and for as long as the person is
incarcerated and that voting rights are restored upon release.
B. The Secretary of the State Election Board shall ensure that
persons who become eligible to vote upon their release from
incarceration face no continued barriers to registration or voting
resulting from their felony convictions.
C. The Secretary of the State Election Board shall develop and
implement a program to educate attorneys, judges, election
officials, corrections officials, inclu ding parole and probation
officers, and members of the public about the requirements of this
section and Section 4 -101 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes
ensuring that:
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1. Judges are informed of their obligation to notify criminal
defendants of the pote ntial loss and restoration of their voting
rights, in accordance with subsection A of this section;
2. The Department of Corrections and, subject to their
agreement, federal correctional institutions in Oklahoma, are
prepared to assist people with registe ring to vote in anticipation
of their release, including by forwarding their completed voter
registration forms to the county election boards;
3. The language on voter registration forms makes clear that
people are disqualified from voting while incarcera ted on felony
convictions and that they regain the right to vote when released
from incarceration;
4. The Department of Corrections and, subject to their
agreement, federal correctional institutions in Oklahoma are
prepared to transmit to the Secretary of State the information
specified in Section 4 of this act;
5. The staff of the State Election Board and the secretaries of
county election boards are prepared both to purge and to restore
names to the Oklahoma Election Management System in accordance with
Section 4 of this act; and
6. Accurate and complete information about the voting rights of
people who have been charged with or convicted of crimes, whether
disfranchising or not, is made available through a single
publication to government officials and the public.
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D. The Secretary of the State Election Board shall promulgate
rules as necessary to implement this section.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2011, Section 4 -120, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 4-120. The registration of any registered voter may be
cancelled only for one of the following reasons:
1. Written notice from the voter; death;
2. Death;
3. Incarceration upon conviction of a felony; judicial
4. Judicial determination of mental incapacitation under Titl e
30 of the Oklahoma Statutes; registration
5. Registration in another county or state; or failure
6. Failure to respond to a confirmation of address mailing ; and
failure
7. Failure to vote as prescribed in Section 21 4-120.2 of this
act title.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 4 -120.11 of Title 26, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The Department of Corrections and, subject to their
agreement, federal correctional institutions in Oklahoma shall, on
or before the fifteenth day of each month, transmit to the Secretary
of the State Election Board two lists. The first list shall contain
the following information about persons age eighteen (18) or older
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who, during the preceding period, have become ineligible to vote
because of their conviction of a felony. The second list shall
contain the following information about persons age eighteen (18) or
older who, during the preceding period, hav e become eligible to vote
because of their release from incarceration:
1. Name;
2. Date of birth;
3. Last-known address with county of residence;
4. Date of conviction; and
5. If known, the driver license number or the last four digits
of the Social Security number.
B. The Secretary of the State Election Board shall cause the
voter registrations of persons who are ineligible to vote because of
their conviction of a felony to be canceled in the county of the
person's residence, and shall notify the sec retary of the
appropriate county election board of the cancellation. The
Secretary of the State Election Board shall likewise ensure that the
names of persons who are eligible and registered to vote following
their release from incarceration are added to the Oklahoma Election
Management System in the same manner as all other names are added to
that list, in accordance with Section 4 -114 of Title 26 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
C. The Secretary of the State Election Board, secretaries of
county election board s and their agents and employees shall not be
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held civilly liable for any action taken based upon information
received pursuant to the provisions of this section if a reasonable
effort was made to make an accurate match of the information
provided with voter registration records before taking any action
relating to voter registration.
SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
Upon the effective date of the Oklahoma Restorati on of Voting
Rights Act, the provisions of this act shall have retroactive
application to all persons who are eligible to vote under its terms,
regardless of whether they were convicted or released from
incarceration prior to its effective date. The State Election Board
and the State Board of Corrections shall be authorized to promulgate
rules and take any other action they deem necessary to implement the
provisions of this section.
SECTION 6. REPEALER 26 O.S. 2011, Section 4 -120.4, is
hereby repealed.
SECTION 7. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
58-1-6463 LRB 12/16/20