Req. No. 5670 Page 1 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 1643 By: Maynard
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to elections; amending 26 O.S. 2021,
Section 4-120.3, as last amended by Section 5,
Chapter 293, O.S.L. 2022 (26 O.S. Su pp. 2022, Section
4-120.3), which relates to voter registration of
deceased persons; requiring Secretary of State
Election Board to obtain death records from the
Social Security Administration ; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKL AHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 4 -120.3, as
last amended by Section 5, Chapter 293, O.S.L. 2022 (26 O.S. Supp.
2022, Section 4-120.3), is amended to read as follows:
Section 4-120.3 A. The State Department of Health shall each
month transmit to the Secretary of the State Election Board a
certified list of all deaths of residents that have occurred within
the state for the immediately preceding month to include only the
personal identifiers needed to compare such information against the
state's voter registration database including, but not limited to,
the decedent's name, date of death, and da te of birth. The list
Req. No. 5670 Page 2 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
shall include the last four digits o f the decedent's Social Security
number and driver license number or state identification card number
for each decedent if such information was p rovided to the State
Department of Health. The Secretary of the State Election Board
shall transmit such list to the secretary of the county election
board who shall then use the list to ascertain those voters who are
deceased, and shall remove such deceased person's name from the
central registry and voter regist ration database within thirty (30)
days from the date the list was received by the county election
board. Such list shall be used only for the purposes described in
this subsection. The State Election Board and county election
boards shall not release information, d ata, or records received from
the State Department of Health for the p urpose of identifying
deceased voters in response to an Oklahoma Open Records Act request
and shall protect the int egrity of the vital records data to the
extent required of the State De partment of Health by Section 1-323
of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
B. The registration of a deceased voter shall be canceled by
the secretary of a county election board upon the receipt of a
certified copy of a death ce rtificate from any perso n or upon the
execution by the next of kin of such deceased vote r of a form and
upon the nature of proof of the fact thereof as prescribed by the
Secretary of the State Election Board. Such form must be executed
in person by the deceased voter's next of kin at the county election
Req. No. 5670 Page 3 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
board office, in which case it shall b e witnessed by the secretary
or other designated employees, at the deceased voter's precinct
polling place or at the next of kin's precinct polling place in the
same county on the day of any e lection, in which case it shall be
witnessed by the inspector of such precinct, or the form may be
personally signed by the next of kin, such signature to be notarized
by a notary public or witnessed by two persons whose signatures and
addresses shall appe ar on the form, and returned to the county
election board.
C. The administrator of a nursing fa cility, as defined in
Section 1-1902 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or the
administrator of a State Veterans Home established pursuant to Title
72 of the Oklahoma Statutes, also may execute a form prescribed by
the Secretary of the State Election Board to notify the secretary of
the county election board of the death of a nursing facility
resident who is a registered voter . The administrator's signature
on such form shall be witnessed by a member of the nursing home
absentee voting board, shall be notar ized or shall be witnessed by
two persons whose signatures and addresses shall appear on the form.
D. A funeral director, as defined in Section 396.2 of Titl e 59
of the Oklahoma Statutes, may execute a form prescribed by the
Secretary of the State Election Board to notify the secretary of the
county election board of the death of a resident of the county. The
funeral director's signature on such form either s hall be notarized
Req. No. 5670 Page 4 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
or shall be witnessed by two persons whose signatures and addresses
shall appear on the form. Upon receipt of such form or any notice
setting forth substantially the same facts and witnessed or
notarized as provided in this section, the secretary of the county
election board shall be authorized to cancel the voter registration
of such deceased person.
E. The registration of a deceased voter who was a member of the
Oklahoma National Guard or the Armed Forces of the United States and
who died in the line of duty may be canceled by the secretary of a
county election board upon the receipt of notification of the
voter's death from the Oklahoma National Guard or the Armed Forces
of the United States. The Secretary of the State Election Board may
prescribe the forms of such notification to be accepted by the
county election board in order to cause the registration of the
voter to be canceled. The Secretary shall further request the
Oklahoma National Guard and the Armed Forces of the United States to
provide notifications to the county election board as provided for
in this section.
F. The Secretary of the State Election Board is authorized to
shall obtain official death records from the Social Security
Administration and from other states . The Secretary of the State
Election Board may compare such death rec ords against the state's
voter registration database. Any possible match of a death record
to a registered voter shall be transmitted to the secretary of the
Req. No. 5670 Page 5 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
county election board in the county in wh ich the voter is
registered. The secretary of the count y election board shall
ascertain any voter who is deceased, and shall remove such deceased
person's name from the central registry and voter registration
database.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective January 1, 2024.
59-1-5670 LRB 12/20/22