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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE JOINT
RESOLUTION 1023 By: Dollens
AS INTRODUCED
A Joint Resolution directing the Secretary of State
to refer to the people for their appro val or
rejection a proposed amendm ent to the Constitution of
the State of Oklahoma by adding a new Section 8 to
Article III; creating the Oklahoma Rank Choice Voting
Act; providing for when law goes into effect;
defining terms; created a method of casting and
tabulating votes in order of preference; providing
ballot title; and directing filing.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE OF THE
1ST SESSION OF THE 5 9TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
SECTION 1. The Secretary of State shall refer to the pe ople for
their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law,
the following proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of
Oklahoma by adding a new Secti on 8 to Article III thereof, to read
as follows:
Section 8. A. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"Oklahoma Rank Choice Voting Act". The State Election Board shall
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cause this section to become effective upon the next upgrade of the
voting processes used by the State Election Board.
B. 1. As used in this section , the following terms have the
following meanings:
1. "Batch elimination" means the simultaneous defeat of
multiple candidates for whom it is mathematically impossible to be
elected.
2. "Continuing ballot" means a ballot that is not an exhausted
ballot.
3. "Continuing candidate" means a candidate who has not been
defeated.
4. "Exhausted ballot" means a ballot that does not rank any
continuing candidate, contains an over vote at the highest continuing
ranking or contains two (2) or more sequential skipped rankin gs
before its highest continuing ranking.
5. "Highest continuing ranking " means the highest ranking on a
voter's ballot for a continuing candi date.
6. "Last-place candidate" means the candidate with the fewest
votes in a round of the ranked-choice voting tabulation.
7. "Mathematically impossible to be elected ", with respect to a
candidate, means either:
a. the candidate cannot be elected becau se the
candidate's vote total in a round of the ranked -choice
voting tabulation plus all votes that could possibly
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be transferred to the candidate in future rounds from
candidates with fewer votes or an equal number of
votes would not be enough to surpass the candidate
with the next-higher vote total in the round; or
b. the candidate has a lower vote total than another
candidate.
8. "Office elected by ranked -choice voting" means any of the
following offices: United States Senator, United States
Representative to Congress, Governor, State Senator and State
Representative, state office, district judge, associate district
judge, district attorney, and includes any nominations by primary
election to such offices.
9. "Overvote" means a circumstance in which a voter has ranked
more than one candidate at the same ranking.
10. "Ranked-choice voting" means the method of casting and
tabulating votes in which voters rank candidates in order of
preference, tabulation proceeds in sequential rounds in which last -
place candidates are defeated and the candi date with the most votes
in the final round is elected.
11. "Ranking" means the number assigned on a ballot by a voter
to a candidate to express the voter 's preference for that candidate.
Ranking number one is the highest ranking, ranking number 2 is the
next-highest ranking and so on.
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12. "Round" means an instance of the sequence of voting
tabulation steps.
13. "Skipped ranking" means a circumstance in which a voter has
left a ranking blank and ranks a candidate at a subsequent ranking.
C. For offices elected by ranked -choice voting, the ballot must
be simple and easy to understand and allow a voter to rank
candidates for an off ice in order of preference .
D. 1. The Secretary of the State Election Board shall tabulate
all votes that appear by an election return to have been cast for
each question or candidate whose name appeare d on the ballot. For
offices elected by ranked -choice voting, the Secretary of State
shall tabulate the votes acc ording to the ranked-choice voting
method.
2. The following procedures are used to determine th e winner in
an election for an office electe d by ranked-choice voting.
Tabulation must proc eed in rounds. In each round, the number of
votes for each continuing candidate mus t be counted. Each
continuing ballot counts as one vote for its highest -ranked
continuing candidate for that round. Exhausted ballots are not
counted for any continuing cand idate. The round then ends with one
of the following two potential outcomes:
a. if there are two or fewer continuing candidates, the
candidate with the most vot es is declared the winner
of the election, or
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b. if there are more than two continuing candidates, the
last-place candidate is defeated and a new r ound
begins.
3. A tie under this section between candidates for the most
votes in the final round or a tie b etween last-place candidates in
any round must be decided by lot, and the candidate chosen by lot is
defeated. The result of the tie resolution mu st be recorded and
reused in the event of a recount. Election officials may resolve
prospective ties between candidates before the election.
4. Modification of a ranked-choice voting ballot and tabulation
is permitted in accordance with the following :
a. the number of allowable rankings may be lim ited to no
fewer than six, or
b. two or more candidates may be de feated simultaneously
by batch elimination i n any round of tabulation.
5. For all statutory and constitutional provisions in the state
pertaining to the rights of political parties, the number of votes
cast for a party's candidate for an office elected by ranked-choice
voting is the number of votes credited to that candidate after the
initial counting in the first round .
SECTION 2. The Ballot Title for the proposed Constitutio nal
amendment as set forth in SECTION 1 of this resolution shall be in
the following form:
BALLOT TITLE
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Legislative Referendum No. ____ State Question No. ____
THE GIST OF THE PROPOSITION IS AS FOLLOWS:
This measure adds a new section to the Oklahoma Const itution.
It creates the Oklahoma Rank Choice Voting Act for certain
elected offices. It creates a method of casting and tabulating
votes in which voters rank candidates in order of preference,
tabulation proceeds in rounds in which last-place candidates are
defeated and the candidate with the most votes in the final
round is elected.
SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPRO VED?
FOR THE PROPOSAL — YES _____________
AGAINST THE PROPOSAL — NO _____________
SECTION 3. The Chief Clerk of the House of Rep resentatives,
immediately after the passa ge of this resolution, sh all prepare and
file one copy thereof, inclu ding the Ballot Title set forth in
SECTION 2 hereof, with the Secretary of State and one copy with the
Attorney General.
59-1-5488 LRB 01/15/23