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53	53	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
54	54
55	55	1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
56	56
57	57	SENATE BILL 700 By: Rader
58	58
59	59
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	AS INTRODUCED
64	64
65	65	An Act relating to elections; amending 26 O.S. 2021,
66	66	Sections 5-111, 5-119, 7-122, 14-101.1, as last
67	67	amended by Section 4, Chapter 2 91, O.S.L. 2022, 16-
68	68	105, and 16-123 (26 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 14-
69	69	101.1), which relate to declarations of candidacy,
70	70	contest, spoiled ballots, absentee ballot harvestin g,
71	71	and fraud; adding information to be in cluded on
72	72	declaration of candidacy form; increasing time period
73	73	for filing of certain petition; clarifying procedure
74	74	for spoiled ballots; adding in tent requirement to
75	75	certain offense; authorizing certain complaints to
76	76	county election boards; clarifying req uirement for
77	77	certain notification; and providing an effective
78	78	date.
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83	83	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
84	84	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 26 O.S . 2021, Section 5-111, is
85	85	amended to read as follows:
86	86	Section 5-111. A. Forms to be used for filing Declarations of
87	87	Candidacy shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the State Election
88	88	Board and shall contain the following information:
89	89	1. The name of the candidate as it shall a ppear on the ballot;
90	90	2. The legal name of the candidate;
91	91	3. The candidate’s place of residence and mailing address;
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93	93
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143	143	4. The name of the office sought;
144	144	5. The candidate’s date of birth;
145	145	6. The party affiliation of the candidate seeking political
146	146	party nomination and the date the candidate regist ered as a voter of
147	147	the political party, if availabl e;
148	148	7. The voter identification number of the candidate and the
149	149	precinct and county wherein the candidate is a registere d voter;
150	150	8. An oath wherein the candidate swears or affirms that he or
151	151	she is qualified to become a candidate for the office sought, an d
152	152	that, if elected, the candidate will be qua lified to hold the
153	153	office; and
154	154	9. Any additional information which the Sec retary deems
155	155	necessary.
156	156	B. If the candidate has ever been ultimately determined by a
157	157	court of proper authority to be guilty of an offen se specified in
158	158	subsection A of Section 5 -105a of this title or at the time of
159	159	filing the Declaration of Candidacy is na med in an outstanding
160	160	warrant for arrest for such an offense, in this or any other st ate,
161	161	the candidate shall provide the following info rmation on a form
162	162	prescribed by the Secretary of the State Election Board:
163	163	1. The name of the offense;
164	164	2. The date of conviction or issuance of the outstanding
165	165	warrant; and
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217	217	3. The county and state of co nviction or issuance of the
218	218	outstanding warrant.
219	219	The provisions of this subsection shall not app ly to an offense
220	220	for which the candidate has re ceived a pardon.
221	221	C. A Declaration of Candidacy form must be signed by the
222	222	candidate, and the signature must be p roperly notarized by a notary
223	223	public or other perso n authorized by law to administer oaths.
224	224	D. In addition to the information required by this section, a
225	225	candidate may include a telephone number, email address and website
226	226	address. Such additional informa tion shall not be required of any
227	227	candidate but if provided shall be made available to the publi c.
228	228	SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 5 -119, is
229	229	amended to read as follows:
230	230	Section 5-119. The petition must be filed no lat er than 5:00
231	231	p.m. on the second fourth business day following the close of the
232	232	filing period.
233	233	SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 7 -122, is
234	234	amended to read as follows:
235	235	Section 7-122. Should a voter spoil any ballot in an effort to
236	236	vote the same, the voter shall fold the ballot and return it to the
237	237	clerk. The clerk shall destroy the ballot in the presence of the
238	238	voter and shall issue the voter another ballot in the same manner
239	239	that the first one was provided. The voter mu st execute an
240	240	affidavit prescribed by the Secretary of the State Election Board in
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292	292	which the voter swears or affirms that he or she spoiled the
293	293	original ballot, returned the ballot to the clerk, that the clerk
294	294	destroyed the ballot in the voter’s presence and that the voter was
295	295	issued a new ballot. Spoiled ballots shall be placed in a separate
296	296	receptacle and returned to the county election b oard.
297	297	SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 14-101.1, as
298	298	last amended by Section 4, Chapter 291, O.S.L. 2022 (26 O.S. Supp.
299	299	2022, Section 14-101.1), is amended to read as follows:
300	300	Section 14-101.1. A. For the purposes of this section,
301	301	“absentee ballot harvesting” means knowingly:
302	302	1. Collecting or obtaining an absent ee ballot from another
303	303	person with the intent to submit, transmit or retu rn the ballot to
304	304	election officials on behalf of that person;
305	305	2. Submitting, returning or t ransmitting an absentee ballot to
306	306	election officials on behalf of another person;
307	307	3. Collecting or obtaining an absentee ballot from another
308	308	person under a false p retense or promise of t ransmitting, returning
309	309	or submitting it to election officials on beha lf of that person;
310	310	4. Requesting or receiving an abse ntee ballot on behalf of
311	311	another person;
312	312	5. Distributing an absentee ballot application or request to a
313	313	voter using the official le tterhead of a candidate or elected
314	314	official;
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366	366	6. Partially or fully co mpleting an application for an absentee
367	367	ballot on behalf of another person without that person’s prior
368	368	consent; or
369	369	7. Notarizing or witnessing more absentee ballot s than allowed
370	370	by law.
371	371	B. Absentee ballot harvesting shall be unlawful at any election
372	372	conducted by a county election board, the State Election Board or
373	373	any political subdivision of this state; provided, the following
374	374	shall not be deemed to be ballot harv esting:
375	375	1. A voter’s assistant or agent acting pursuant to law as
376	376	otherwise allowed by this title;
377	377	2. An absentee voting board member, as described in this title,
378	378	who assists a voter confined to a nursin g home or veterans center
379	379	pursuant to law;
380	380	3. An employee of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, the
381	381	United States Department of Defense or the Oklahoma National Guard
382	382	who assists a uniformed-services voter in returning or transmitting
383	383	an absentee ballot;
384	384	4. A spouse, relative in the first or second degree of
385	385	consanguinity or affinity or cohabitant of a voter who forwards an
386	386	absentee ballot to the voter when absent from the home;
387	387	5. A voter’s spouse who, with the voter ’s consent, returns the
388	388	voter’s absentee ballot by mail; or
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440	440	6. An official action by an election official that is required
441	441	or authorized by law.
442	442	SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 16 -105, is
443	443	amended to read as follows:
444	444	Section 16-105. A. Any person who knowingly conspires to
445	445	commit fraud or perpetrates fraud, or who steals sup plies used to
446	446	conduct an election, in order to change a voter ’s vote, or to change
447	447	the composition of the official ballot or ballots , or to change the
448	448	counting of the ballots, or to change the certification of the
449	449	results of an election, shall be deemed gu ilty of a felony.
450	450	B. At every precinct there shall be posted information,
451	451	provided by the State Election Board, which states the pe nalties for
452	452	voter fraud and states that, if vot er fraud is suspected, complaints
453	453	should be reported to the State Election Bo ard or county election
454	454	board.
455	455	C. The State Election Board or county election board shall,
456	456	upon receiving the complaint:
457	457	1. Document such complaint and request the name and maili ng
458	458	address of the person making the complaint;
459	459	2. Send a letter to the perso n making the complaint, stating
460	460	the penalties for voter fraud and the option of contacting the
461	461	district attorney in the county where such fraud is suspected; and
462	462	3. Provide the district attorney’s name and phone number.
463	463
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514	514	D. All information relating to vot er complaints shall remain
515	515	confidential until after the complaint has resulted in a conviction
516	516	or a plea of guilty or nolo contender e.
517	517	SECTION 6. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 16 -123, is
518	518	amended to read as follows:
519	519	Section 16-123. A. The Secretary of the State Election Board
520	520	or any county election board who has documents that appear to be
521	521	evidence of voter registration or voting crimes any criminal
522	522	violation described in this title shall notify the district attorney
523	523	for the county or counties involved.
524	524	B. When presented with documentation of possible voter
525	525	registration or voting crim es by the Secretary of the State Election
526	526	Board or any county electio n board, a district attorney shall
527	527	investigate and, within thirty (30) days and each thirty (30) days
528	528	thereafter following receipt of such documentation, report in
529	529	writing to the Secretar y of the State Election Board or county
530	530	election board the status of the investigation until charges are
531	531	filed or the district attorney declines to file charges.
532	532	SECTION 7. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
533	533
534	534	59-1-373 TEK 1/18/2023 1:24:53 PM

Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB700 Compare Versions