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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
SENATE BILL 1754 By: Paxton
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to elections; amending 26 O.S. 20 21,
Sections 1-102, 1-104, 1-105, 5-110, 6-103, 6-106, 6-
109, 6-111, 6-116, and 8-101, which relate to
election procedures; changing date of Primary
Election; modifying circumstances under which Primary
Election held; providing for placement of names of
all qualifying candidates on Primary El ection ballot;
specifying names to be placed on General Election
ballot; allowing any registered voter to vote in
Primary Election; deleting references to Runoff
Primary Election; modifying procedure for substitute
candidate; changing dates of candidate fi ling period;
specifying information to be printed on ballot;
providing for certification of candidates ; repealing
26 O.S. 2021, Sections 1-103, 5-116, 6-108 and 6-110,
which relate to Runoff Primary Elections; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA :
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 2 6 O.S. 2021, Section 1-102, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-102. A Primary Election shall be held on the last
fourth Tuesday in June August of each even-numbered year if more
than two candidates have filed for and qualified to have their names
printed on the ballot for any office , at which time each political
party recognized by the laws of Oklahoma shall nominate its
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candidates for the offices to be filled at the next succeeding
General Election, unless otherwise provided by law. No candidate 's
name shall be printed upon the General Election ballot unless such
candidate shall have been nominated as herein provided, unless
otherwise provided by law ; provided further that this provision
shall not exclude the right of a nonpartisan candidate to have his
or her name printed upon the General Election ballots the names of
all such candidates shall be put before the voters on a single
ballot, regardless o f party affiliation or status as a nonpartisan
candidate. If no candidate receives more than fifty p ercent (50%)
of the votes cast, t he names of the two candidates receiving the
highest number of votes shall be placed on the General Election
ballot. No county, municipality or school district shall sched ule
an election on any date during the twenty (20) days immediately
preceding the date of any such primary election.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 20 21, Section 1-104, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-104. A. No Any registered voter shall be permitted
to vote in any Primary Election or Runoff Primary Election of any
political party except the political party of which his registration
form shows him to be a member, except a s otherwise provided by this
section.
B. 1. A recognized political party may permit registered
voters designated as Independents pursuant to the provisions of
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Section 4-112 of this title to vote in a Primary Election or Runoff
Primary Election of the par ty.
2. The state chairman of the party shall, bet ween November 1
and 30 of every odd-numbered year, notify the Secretary of the State
Election Board as to whether or not the party intends to permit
registered voters designated as Independents to vote in a Primary
Election or Runoff Primary Election of th e party. If the state
chairman notifies the Secret ary of the State Election Board of the
party's intention to so permit, registered voters designated as
Independents shall be permitted to vote in any Prima ry Election or
Runoff Primary Election of the part y held in the following two (2)
calendar years. If the state chairman of one party notifies the
Secretary of the State Election Board of the party 's intent to so
permit, the notification period specified i n this paragraph shall be
extended to December 15 for the state chairman of any other party to
so notify or to change prior notification. A registered voter
designated as Independent shall not be permitted to vote in a
Primary Election or Runoff Primary E lection of more than one party.
3. Failure to so notify the Secretary of the State Election
Board shall serve to prohibit registered voters designated as
Independents from voting in a Primary Election or Runoff Primary
Election of the party.
4. A group of persons seeking to form a recognized political
party pursuant to the provisions of Section 1 -108 of this title
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shall, upon filing of the petitions seeking recognition of the
political party with the Secretary of the State Election Board,
notify the Secretary of the State Election Board as to whether or
not the party intends to permit registered voters d esignated as
Independents to vote in a Primary Election or Runoff Primary
Election of the party. If the party is recognized and the group of
persons seeking recognition of the party notifies the Secretary of
the State Election Board of such intention, reg istered voters
designated as Independents shall be permitted to vote in any Primary
Election or Runoff Primary Election of the party held prior to
January 1 of the following even -numbered year.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -105, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-105. A. In the event of the death of a political
party's nominee for office prior to the date of the General
Election, or in the event that a decea sed person receives a
political party's nomination for office, a substitute candidate will
be permitted to have his or her name placed on the General Election
ballot as follows:
1. If the nominee was a can didate for county office, the
political party's ce ntral committee of the county shall notify the
secretary of the county election board of the name of an alternative
candidate to be placed on the General Election ba llot. Such notice
shall be submitted in writing, within fifteen (15) days after the
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death has occurred, but not later than five o'clock p.m. on the
Friday following the date of the Runoff Primary Election, and shall
be signed by at least two duly authoriz ed members of the political
party's county central committee. If a political party's centr al
committee fails to submit the notice in the manner described, then a
nominee for that party shall not appear on the ballot for that
office;
2. If the nominee was a candidate who filed a Declaration of
Candidacy with the State Election Board, the state central committee
of the party affected shall notify the Secretary of the State
Election Board of the name of an alternative candidate to be placed
on the General Election ballot. Such notice shall be subm itted in
writing, within fifteen (15) days after t he death has occurred, but
not later than five o'clock p.m. on the Friday following the date of
the Runoff Primary Election, and shall be signed by at least two
duly authorized members of the political part y's state central
committee. If a political party 's central committee fails to submit
the notice in the manner described, then a nominee for that party
shall not appear on the ballot for that office; and
3. Provided, if the death of a political party's nominee for
an office described in paragraph 1 or 2 of this subsection should
occur after the Friday following the date of the Runoff Primary
Election, then the election shall proceed with the deceased
candidate's name printed on the ballot the candidate receiving the
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next highest number of votes at the P rimary Election shall be
designated as a substitute candidate and will be permitted to have
his or her name placed on the General Election ballot as provided in
this section if the death occurs on or after September 1 immediately
preceding the General Elec tion.
B. In the event of the death of an independent candidate for an
office described in paragraph 1 or 2 of subsection A of this
section, the following procedure shall apply:
1. If the death occurs on o r prior to the Friday following the
date of the Runoff Primary Election, the candidate's name shall not
be printed on the ballot; and
2. If the death occurs after the Friday following the date of
the Runoff Primary Election, the candidate's name shall be printed
on the ballot.
C. In the event a deceased candidate is certified by the
appropriate Election Board as having won an election, a vacancy in
the office shall occur upon the date the candidate would have take n
office, and the vacancy shall be filled in the manner prescribed by
law.
D. C. In the event of the death of a candidate who was
unopposed for election, a Special Election shall be called by the
Governor. The Special Election shall be conducted accordi ng to the
laws governing such elections, Se ction 12-101 et seq. of this title.
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SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 20 21, Section 5-110, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 5-110. Declarations of Candidacy provided herein must
be filed with the secretary of the appropriate el ection board no
earlier than 8:00 a.m. on the second Wednesday of April first Monday
of June of any even-numbered year and no later than 5:00 p.m. on the
next succeeding Friday Wednesday. Such Declarations of Candidacy
may be transmitted by United States mail, but in no event shall the
secretary of any election board accept such Declarations after the
time prescribed by law.
SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 20 21, Section 6-103, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-103. The State Election Board shall cause ballots to
be printed for statewide Primary , Runoff Primary, and General
Elections and special elections at such time as to insure delivery
of said ballots to the several county election boards for
distribution to the several pr ecinct election boards prior to
election day. Said board The Board shall cause ballots to be
printed for the following offices: Electors for President and Vice
President;, United States Senators ;, United States Representatives ;,
state officers;, Justices of the Supreme Court ;, Judges of the Court
of Criminal Appeals;, Judges of the Court of Appeals ;, district
judges and associate district judges ;, State Senators;, State
Representatives;, district attorneys;, county officers, and such
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other officers as req uired by law, in the order they appear in the
statutes, and shall cause ballots to be printed for state qu estions.
SECTION 6. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 20 21, Section 6-106, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-106. The official ballot for the General Election
shall be printed so th at the nominees of the various political
parties and nonpartisan candidates will appear in order as
determined according to this section. For partisan offices, if a
candidate has indicated a party affiliat ion on the declaration of
candidacy, that affiliat ion will be shown after the name of the
candidate on the Primary and General Election ballots. For each
section of the ballot for which there are partisan candidates, the
candidates of the recognized parti es shall be printed first in lot
order followed by candidates of unrecognized parties in lot order
followed by independent candidates in lot order. Candidates of
recognized and unrecognized parties shall be printed in the lot
order of their respective par ty. Each political party shall have
the right to select an emblem to be used in designating its
candidates on the ballot; provided, however, that no party shall be
allowed to use the coat of arms or seal of Oklahoma or of the United
States, or the respect ive flags thereof. Until changed by
resolution of a political party, in state convention, the emblem of
the Democratic party shall be a rooster and that of the Republican
party an eagle. Change in a party emblem shall be authorized by the
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Secretary of the State Election Board only after receipt of writt en
notice of the change by the Secretary from the state central
committee of a party. At the top of each ballot on which there are
partisan candidates shall appear the name of each recognized party
with the emblem of the party in lot order as prescribed b y the
Secretary of the State Election Board. The name o f the office
entitled to the first place, preceded by the word "for", shall
appear in bold type, as "For Governor". Immediately after same
shall be the names of the nominees for such office printed w ith the
name of the nominee's party followed by candidat es who file as
Independents for such office printed with the word "Independent".
The list shall be continued, naming the officers in the order in
which they are set out by the Constitution and statut es, until all
the nominees are given space. The section s of the ballot shall be
set off with well-defined lines or by other means as prescribed by
the Secretary of the State Election Board.
SECTION 7. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 20 21, Section 6-109, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-109. On all Primary and Runoff Primary Election
ballots, except absentee ballots, the names of the candidates for
each office shall be rotated in such a manner that all candidates'
names appear in each position on the ballots an equal number of
times, to the extent practicable. Provided, however, the names of
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candidates for judicial, school, city and town offices shall be
placed on the ballot according t o lot.
SECTION 8. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 6-111, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-111. All ballots for Primary , Runoff Primary and
General Elections shall be printed with a stub so perforated that
the ballot may be easily detached from the stub. Upon the stub
shall be printed the number of the stub and the words, "Primary
Election Ballot", "Runoff Primary Election Ballot " or "General
Election Ballot", as the case may be ; in the event of Primary and
Runoff Primary Elections, the name of the political party shall be
printed above the words .
SECTION 9. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 20 21, Section 6-116, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-116. A. As soon as practicable, the State Election
Board or each county election board, when ballots are pri nted by a
county election board, shall cause to be printed a sufficient number
of absentee ballots, prepared as nearly as practicable in t he same
manner as provided for other ballots for the Primary , Runoff Primary
and General Elections, in time for the ba llots to be issued during
the time prescribed by law.
B. The Secretary of the State Election Board may authorize the
use of regular ballo ts as absentee ballots in any county for any
election. In the event that regular ballots are authorized for use
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as absentee ballots at any election, the first order of rotation of
candidate names for all partisan offices in Primary Elections shall
be determined as outlined in Section 6 -107 of this title and the
candidate names shall be rotated to the extent practicable o n all
ballots printed for the election. The first order of rotation of
candidate names for all partisan offices in the Runoff Primary
Election shall be determined as outlined in Section 6 -108 of this
title and the candidate names shall be rotated to the e xtent
practicable on all ballots printed for the election. Regular
ballots used as absentee ballots shall not be required to be
designated on their face as absentee ballots.
SECTION 10. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 20 21, Section 8-101, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 8-101. The county election board shall certify a list
of nominees of each political party the names of the two candidates
receiving the highest number of votes for county offices following
the Primary and Runoff Primary Elections Election. The State
Election Board shall certify a list of nominees of each political
party the names of the two candidates rec eiving the highest number
of votes for the offices for which the Boa rd accepts filings of
Declarations of Candidacy fo llowing the Primary and Runoff Primary
Elections Election. The provisions of this section shall not be
applicable if one candidate receiv es more than fifty percent (50%)
of the votes cast in the Primary El ection.
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SECTION 11. REPEALER 26 O.S. 2021, Sections 1-103, 5-
116, 6-108, and 6-110 are hereby repealed.
SECTION 12. This act shall become effective N ovember 1, 2022.
58-2-3062 TEK 1/20/2022 6:34:55 PM