An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 481 By: Rader of the Senate
and
Boatman and Cantrell of the
House
An Act relating to security of election offici als;
amending 21 O.S. 2021, Section 117 6, as amended by
Section 4, Chapter 318, O.S.L. 202 2 (21 O.S. Supp.
2022, Section 1176), which relates to use of
electronic communication devi ce to threaten or harass
public official; prohibiting certain ac tions toward
election officials; defining term; modifying
definitions; amending 26 O.S. 2021, Section s 4-115.2,
16-109, 16-113, and 16-124, which relate to
confidentiality of addresses, co ercion or
interference with conduct of elections, and tampering
with election systems; adding class of persons
eligible to request confidentiality of address;
prohibiting threats or intimidation toward election
officials; creating misdemeanor offense; specifying
punishment for certain offense; prohibiting false
impersonation of election offici als; creating
misdemeanor offense; specifying punishment for
certain offense; prohibiting intentionally causing
damage to certain election sys tems; creating felony
offense; updating statutory language; providing an
effective date; and declaring an emergenc y.
SUBJECT: Security of election offic ials
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE O F THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
ENR. S. B. NO. 481 Page 2
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 1176, as
amended by Section 4, Chapter 318, O.S.L. 2022 (21 O.S. Supp. 2022,
Section 1176), is amended to read as fol lows:
Section 1176. A. Whoever, with the intent to threaten,
intimidate or harass, or facilitate another to threaten, intimidate
or harass, uses an electronic communication device to knowingly
publish, post or otherwise make publicly available personally
identifiable information of a peace officer, public official,
election official, or crime victim, and as a result places that
peace officer, public official, election official, or crime victim
in reasonable fear o f death or serious bodily injury shall, upon
conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in
the county jail for a term not to exceed six (6) months, or by a
fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both such
fine and imprisonment. Upon conviction for a second or subsequent
violation, the person sha ll be punished by imprisonment in the
county jail for a term not to exceed one (1) year, or by a fine not
to exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), or by both such fine and
imprisonment.
B. As used in this section:
1. “Crime victim” shall have the same meaning as that term is
defined in Section 142A-1 of this title;
2. “Election official” means a member or employee of the State
Election Board or a county election board, the Secretary of the
State Election Board or a county election board, or a person serving
as a precinct official or absentee voting board member appointed as
required by law;
3. “Electronic communication” shall have the same meaning as
that term is defined in Section 1172 of this title. Electronic
communication does not include broadc ast transmissions or similar
communications that are not targeted at any specific individual;
3. 4. “Electronic communica tion device” means any cellular
telephone, facsimile, pager, computer, or any device capable of
electronic communication;
ENR. S. B. NO. 481 Page 3
4. 5. “Peace officer” shall have the same meaning a s that term
is defined in Section 99 of this title;
5. 6. “Personally identifiable information” means information
which can identify an individual including, but not limited to,
name, birth date, place of birth, moth er’s maiden name, biometric
records, Social Security number, official state- or government-
issued driver license or identification number, government passport
number, employer or taxpayer identification number , or any other
information that is linked or li nkable to an individual, such as
medical, educational, financial or employment information;
6. 7. “Public official” means any person elected or appointed
to a state office in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch
of state government or other poli tical subdivision of the state; and
7. 8. “Publish” means to circulate, deliver, distribute,
disseminate, transmit, or otherwise make available to another
person.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 4-115.2, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 4-115.2. A. 1. The Secretary of the State Election
Board is authorized to promulgate rules to ke ep confidential the
residence and mailing address, upon application to do so, of
individual registered voters who are members of ce rtain classes as
described in paragraph 2 of this subsectio n. These classes
2. Classes shall be limited to the judiciary, d istrict
attorneys, assistant district att orneys, Uniformed Services members,
law enforcement personnel and the immediate family of law
enforcement personnel, correct ional officers, the secretary,
assistant secretary, employees, and members of a county elec tion
board or the State Election Board , persons who are protected by
victim’s protection orders, the spouses and dependents of the
members of such classes, and persons who are certified by t he
Secretary of State as participants in the Address Confidentiali ty
Program established b y Section 60.14 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma
Statutes.
ENR. S. B. NO. 481 Page 4
3. Such address information shall be provided to a c andidate or
candidate representative or other lawful author ity in anticipation
or as part of a contest of candidacy or contes t of an election as
provided for in this title or as part of a petition challenge as
provided by law. However, no information conc erning the address of
a certified Address Confidentiality P rogram participant shall be
released by election officials to any person for any purpose exce pt
under court order.
B. As used in this section, “immediate family of law
enforcement personnel ” means a spouse, child by birth or adoption,
stepchild or parent living at the same residence as the law
enforcement personnel.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 16 -109, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 16-109. A. Any person who, by means of coercion,
providing false or mislea ding information or any other method,
knowingly attempts to preven t a qualified elector from becoming
registered, or a registered voter from v oting, shall be deemed
guilty of a felony.
B. Any person who, directly or indirectly, utters or addresses
any threat or intimidation to any election official with intent to
improperly influence an election shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed One Thou sand Dollars
($1,000.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to
exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment .
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 16 -113, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 16-113. A. Any person, including a lawfully appointed
watcher or exit pollster, who interferes with a registered voter wh o
is attempting to vote, or any person who attempts to influence the
vote of another by means of force or in timidation, or any pers on who
interferes with the orderly and lawful conduct of an election shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
B. Any person who falsely impersonates an election official or
who, without authority, performs any act reserved to electi on
ENR. S. B. NO. 481 Page 5
officials by law with intent to imprope rly influence an election
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to
exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment in the
county jail for a term not to e xceed six (6) months, o r by both such
fine and imprisonment .
SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, S ection 16-124, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 16-124. Any person who intentionally accesses or
attempts to access without authorizat ion, or who tampers with or
attempts to tamper with, or damages or attempts to damage, any
hardware, software, appl ication, network or any part of an election
management system, election results tabulation system, voter
registration system or other electio n-related system of the State
Election Board or a coun ty election board, shall be deemed gu ilty of
a felony.
SECTION 6. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
SECTION 7. It being immediately necessary for the preser vation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
ENR. S. B. NO. 481 Page 6
Passed the Senate the 21st day of February, 2023.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Rep resentatives the 24th day of April, 2023.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this _______ _____________
day of _________________ __, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _______________________________ __
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _____ ____
day of _________________ __, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this _______ ___
day of __________________, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _______________________________ __