OK
Oklahoma Senate Bill SB995

Oklahoma 2024 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB995 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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5353 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
5454
5555 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
5656
5757 SENATE BILL 995 By: Prieto
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6363 AS INTRODUCED
6464
6565 An Act relating to elections; stating legis lative
6666 findings and intent; providing certain best
6767 practices; requiring certain post -election audits;
6868 establishing procedures and requirements for certain
6969 audits; authorizing Legislature to require certain
7070 audits; requiring re ports of certain audits;
7171 requiring reports to be made available to the public;
7272 requiring State Election Board to promulgate certain
7373 rules; requiring certain consul tation; defining
7474 terms; amending 26 O.S. 2021, Section s 4-101 and 4-
7575 120.2, as last amended by Section 4, Chapter 293,
7676 O.S.L. 2022 (26 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 4 -120.2),
7777 which relate to voter registration; prohibiting voter
7878 registration for certain persons; increasing
7979 frequency of certain address confirmati on mailings;
8080 modifying date for removal o f certain voter
8181 registrations; incre asing frequency for
8282 identification of duplicate voter registrations;
8383 requiring certain annual report to Legislature by
8484 Secretary of the State Election B oard; requiring
8585 annual audit of voter registration database by
8686 Attorney General; establishing requiremen ts for
8787 certain audit; requiring report of certain audit to
8888 Legislature; amending 26 O.S. 2021, Section 7-130, as
8989 amended by Section 2, Chapter 291, O.S.L. 2022 (26
9090 O.S. Supp. 2022, Sec tion 7-130), which relates to
9191 election watchers; expanding ability of election
9292 watchers to observe the election process;
9393 establishing requirements for authorized observation
9494 by election watchers; pr ohibiting certain actions by
9595 election watchers; creating misdemeanor offense;
9696 repealing 26 O.S. 2021, Section 3 -130, which relates
9797 to post-election audits; providing for codification;
9898 providing an effective date; and de claring an
9999 emergency.
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154154
155155 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
156156 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
157157 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3-130A of Title 26, unless there
158158 is created a duplica tion in numbering, reads as follows:
159159 A. The Legislature hereby finds that the auditing of election
160160 results is necessary to ensure effective election administration and
161161 public confidence in the election process.
162162 B. By enacting this section, the Legislature intends that the
163163 state conduct a post-election audit of election results that is
164164 developed with the assistance of statistical experts and that relies
165165 upon statistical audits making use of best practice s for conducting
166166 such audits. Such best practices sh all include:
167167 1. All ballot types shall be eligible to be included in every
168168 audit including but not limited to absentee ballots, provisional
169169 ballots, early voting ballots, and election day ballots ;
170170 2. Audit shall be conducted in a public forum, and watchers
171171 shall be allowed to observe the audit process; and
172172 3. Audit results shall be able to reverse preliminary outcomes
173173 if the audit determines they are incorrect.
174174 C. Following each primary, general, runoff, recall, or
175175 congressional vacancy election, each c ounty shall make use of a
176176 post-election audit of election results in accordance with the
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228228 requirements of this section. Races to be audited shall be selected
229229 in accordance with procedures established by the State Election
230230 Board and all contested races shall be eligible for such selection.
231231 D. A comprehensive procedural audit sh all be conducted every
232232 five (5) years in jurisdictions randomly selected by the State
233233 Election Board. Such audit shall be conducted by the State Election
234234 Board on the entire process of voting including but not limited to
235235 voter registration, mac hine tabulation, ballot security, ballot and
236236 voting system design .
237237 E. At any time, the Legislature may require a comprehensive
238238 procedural audit of election results in any jurisdiction using the
239239 standards promulgated by the State Election Board . Such audit may
240240 be requested by the Legislature while not in session with the
241241 consent of the President Pro Tempore of the S enate and the Speaker
242242 of the House of Representatives .
243243 F. The secretary of each county election board shall report the
244244 findings of the post-election audit of election results to the
245245 Secretary of the State Election Boa rd. The Secretary of the State
246246 Election Board shall make the resu lts of the procedural audit
247247 available to the public.
248248 G. The State Election Board shall promulgate rules and
249249 procedures as necessary to implement and administer the requirements
250250 of this section. In the promulgation of such rules, the State
251251 Election Board shall consult statistical experts, equipment vendors,
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303303 county clerks, and recorders and shall consider best practices for
304304 conducting audits.
305305 H. As used in this section:
306306 1. “Incorrect outcome” means an outcome that is inconsistent
307307 with the election outcome that would be obtained by conducting a
308308 full recount; and
309309 2. “Post-election audit of election results ” means an audit
310310 protocol that makes use of statistical methods and is designed to
311311 limit to acceptable levels the risk of certifying a preliminary
312312 election outcome that constitutes an incorrect outcome.
313313 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 4 -101, is
314314 amended to read as follows:
315315 Section 4-101. Every person who is a qualified elector as
316316 defined by Section 1 of Article III of t he Oklahoma Constitution
317317 shall be entitled to become a registered voter in the precinct of
318318 his or her residence, with the following conditions:
319319 1. Persons convicted of a felony shall be eligible to register
320320 to vote when they have fully served their senten ce of court-mandated
321321 calendar days, including any te rm of incarceration, parole or
322322 supervision, or completed a period of probation ordered by any
323323 court; and
324324 2. Any person who has been adjudged to be an incapacitated
325325 person as such term is defined by Secti on 1-111 of Title 30 of the
326326 Oklahoma Statutes shall be ineligible to register to vote. When
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378378 such incapacitated person has been adjudged to be no longer
379379 incapacitated such person shall be eligible to become a registered
380380 voter. The provisions of this parag raph shall not prohibit any
381381 person adjudged to be a partially incapacitated person as such term
382382 is defined by Section 1-111 of Title 30 of the Oklahoma Statutes
383383 from being eligible to register to vote unless the order adjudging
384384 the person to be partially i ncapacitated restricts such person from
385385 being eligible to register to vote .; and
386386 3. A person who is not a citizen of the United States shall not
387387 be eligible to register to vote in any election conducted in this
388388 state.
389389 SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 4 -120.2, as
390390 last amended by Section 4, Chapter 293, O.S.L. 2022 (26 O.S. Supp.
391391 2022, Section 4-120.2), is amended to read as follows:
392392 Section 4-120.2. A. No later than June 1 of each odd-numbered
393393 year, any voter identified within the previous twenty-four (24)
394394 twelve (12) months as subject to the provisions of this subsection
395395 shall be sent an address confirmation mailing prescribed by the
396396 Secretary of the State Election Board and paid for by the state.
397397 The following shall be subject to the provisions of this subsec tion:
398398 1. Any voter for whom a first-class mailing from the cou nty
399399 election board or the State Elect ion Board was return ed;
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451451 2. Any voter identified by the Secretary of the State Election
452452 Board as a potential duplicate voter in another county in this state
453453 or in another state;
454454 3. Any voter identified in subsection C of Section 4-118.1 of
455455 this title who has not updated his or her voter registration;
456456 4. Any registered voter identified in subsection F of Section
457457 4-120.3 of this title whose voter registration has not been
458458 canceled;
459459 5. Any active registered voter who did not vote in the second
460460 previous general election or any election conducted by a county
461461 election board since the second previous g eneral election and who
462462 has initiated no voter registration change;
463463 6. Any registered voter who w as sent a notice and application
464464 to update a voter registration address as required by subsection B
465465 of Section 4-109.3 of this title, but whose voter r egistration
466466 address has not been updated or canceled; and
467467 7. Any voter who is registered to vote and has the same address
468468 of residence as five or more other registered voters. “Same address
469469 of residence” means the same street name, same street direction,
470470 same street type, same st reet post direction, same street number,
471471 same building or apartment number, and same ZIP code.
472472 Voters who do not respond to the co nfirmation mailing or whose
473473 mailing is returned as nonforwardable or undeliverable as addressed
474474 shall be designated as inactiv e sixty (60) days after the mailing.
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526526 B. An inactive voter’s status shall be changed to active under
527527 the following conditions:
528528 1. With any registration change initiated by the voter; or
529529 2. By voting in any election conducted by a county election
530530 board.
531531 An inactive voter who does not vote in any election conducted by
532532 a county election board during the period beg inning on the date of
533533 the confirmation mailing and ending on the day after the date of the
534534 second successive general election for federal office on December 1
535535 of each year shall be removed as a registered voter and all the
536536 information on that vot er shall be destroyed. Each county election
537537 board secretary shall maintain a list of the names and addresses of
538538 all persons sent a confirmation mailing as described in this section
539539 and information on whether each such person has responded to the
540540 notice. The list shall be maintained f or twenty-four (24) months
541541 following the date of the second successive federal general election
542542 after the date of the confirmation mailing.
543543 C. The secretary of each county election board shall cause all
544544 inactive voters in a precinct to be identified on the precinct
545545 registry.
546546 D. No later than June 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
547547 Secretary of the State Election Board shall identify duplicate voter
548548 registrations in the state and shall direct appropriate county
549549 election board secretaries to cancel the voter registration of all
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601601 but the latest registration of duplicate voter registrations. Each
602602 county election board sec retary shall maintain for twenty-four (24)
603603 months a list of the names and addresses of all canceled dupli cate
604604 voter registrations. For the purposes of this subsect ion, duplicate
605605 voter registrations are those registrations which contain the
606606 following identical information on more than one registration:
607607 1. First name, middle name or initial, last name, and d ate of
608608 birth;
609609 2. Driver license number and date of birth; o r
610610 3. Last name, date of birth, and the last four digits of the
611611 Social Security number.
612612 SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be co dified
613613 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 4-122 of Title 26, unless there
614614 is created a duplication in numb ering, reads as follows:
615615 By December 31 of each year, the Secretary of the State Election
616616 Board shall provide a report to the President Pro Tempore of the
617617 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives detailing the
618618 number of voters removed from the voter registration database due to
619619 inactivity, death, convicted felony, mental incompetence, v oluntary
620620 cancellation, relocation to another ju risdiction, or for any other
621621 reason.
622622 SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
623623 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 4-123 of Title 26, unless there
624624 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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676676 No later than Decembe r 31 of each year, the Attorney General
677677 shall conduct an audit of the voter registration database. The
678678 audit shall include a random selection of a least two percent of the
679679 active registered voters state wide, and shall include active
680680 registered voters from each county. For each voter selected for the
681681 audit, the auditor shall verify that the voter is eligible for the
682682 registration, verify that the voter ’s registration information is
683683 accurate and supported by the documentation on file, check for
684684 duplicate voter registrations, search available resources to
685685 determine whether the voter is inactive, deceased, convicted of a
686686 felony, or adjudicated as incapacitated. The audit report shall
687687 identify areas of concern or training needed in response to the
688688 audit findings. The Attorney General shall share the audit results
689689 with the State Election Board and verify that the county election
690690 boards address the concerns and fulfill the tra ining identified
691691 during the audit. No later than December 31 of each year, the
692692 Attorney General shall report the audit results to the President Pro
693693 Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
694694 Representatives and post the results on the Attorney General’s
695695 publicly available websit e.
696696 SECTION 6. AMENDATORY 26 O.S. 2021, Section 7-130, as
697697 amended by Section 2, Chapter 291, O.S.L. 2022 (26 O.S. Supp. 2022,
698698 Section 7-130), is amended to read as follows:
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750750 Section 7-130. Any candidate or any recognized political party
751751 shall be entitled to have a watcher present at any place where an
752752 official count is being conducted to observe all stages of the
753753 election process including but not limited to the testing,
754754 maintenance, and certification of election technologies, any place
755755 where an official count is being conducted, canvassing, elector
756756 appeals, vote tabulation, ballot transport, audits, and recounts.
757757 The precinct official shall clearly designate observation areas for
758758 watchers. The observation areas shall be not less t han three feet
759759 from nor more than six feet from the table at which electors
760760 announce their name and address to be issued a voter number at the
761761 polling place, office, or alternate site , and not less than three
762762 feet from nor more than six feet from the table at which a person
763763 may register to vote at the pollin g place, office, or alternate
764764 site. The observation areas shall be positioned to permit any
765765 watcher to readily observe all public aspects of the voting process.
766766 A watcher is entitled to bring in voter lists to observe and to flag
767767 ballots for review. Such watcher must be commissioned in writing by
768768 the candidate, or by the chair of the recogn ized political party of
769769 the county in which the watcher is being authorized. Such
770770 commission must be filed with the secretary of the appropriate
771771 county election board no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday preceding
772772 the election. Watchers must subscribe to an oath to observe all
773773 laws and rules prescribed for watchers as hereinafter provided.
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825825 Such oath must be administered by the inspector of the precinct in
826826 which the watcher is authorized. Watchers shall be entitled to
827827 observe the voting device both befor e the polls are opened and after
828828 the polls are closed; provided, further, that such watchers shall
829829 not be present at the polling place at other times. Watchers may be
830830 commissioned to observe voting device testing an d to accompany
831831 personnel assigned to rep air or maintain machines d uring the period
832832 of the election. In such case, the watchers shall be limited to
833833 observing the repair or maintenance work being performed an d making
834834 a written record of such work. All watchers shall only appear in
835835 person and the use of watchers via elect ronic devices is prohibited.
836836 A watcher shall not wear any campaign material advocating for or
837837 against a candidate or ballot question. A wat cher shall not
838838 interfere with any elector in the preparation or casting of the
839839 elector’s ballot or hinder or prevent the performance of the duties
840840 of any election official. Any watcher who violates the law
841841 prescribed for watchers shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
842842 Any precinct official who violates the provisions of this section
843843 shall be deemed guilty of a misdem eanor.
844844 SECTION 7. REPEALER 26 O.S. 2021, Section 3-130, is
845845 hereby repealed.
846846 SECTION 8. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
847847 SECTION 9. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
848848 of the public peace, he alth or safety, an emergency is hereby
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900900 declared to exist, by reas on whereof this act shall take effect and
901901 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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