Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

1                                 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2                    1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
3    HOUSE BILL 1950                         By: McCall
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6                                   AS INTRODUCED
7           An Act relating to elections; amending 26 O.S. 2021,
            Section 4-120.3, as last amended by Section 5,
8           Chapter 293, O.S.L. 2022 (26 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section
            4-120.3), which relates to voter registration of
9           deceased persons; requiring Secretary of State
            Election Board to obtain death records from the
10          Social Security Administration; and providing an
            effective date.
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     BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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         SECTION 1.        AMENDATORY     26 O.S. 2021, Section 4-120.3, as
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     last amended by Section 5, Chapter 293, O.S.L. 2022 (26 O.S. Supp.
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     2022, Section 4-120.3), is amended to read as follows:
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         Section 4-120.3     A.   The State Department of Health shall each
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     month transmit to the Secretary of the State Election Board a
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     certified list of all deaths of residents that have occurred within
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     the state for the immediately preceding month to include only the
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     personal identifiers needed to compare such information against the
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     state's voter registration database including, but not limited to,
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     the decedent's name, date of death, and date of birth.       The list
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     Req. No. 7129                                                      Page 1
1    shall include the last four digits of the decedent's Social Security
2    number and driver license number or state identification card number
3    for each decedent if such information was provided to the State
4    Department of Health.   The Secretary of the State Election Board
5    shall transmit such list to the secretary of the county election
6    board who shall then use the list to ascertain those voters who are
7    deceased, and shall remove such deceased person's name from the
8    central registry and voter registration database within thirty (30)
9    days from the date the list was received by the county election
10   board.   Such list shall be used only for the purposes described in
11   this subsection.   The State Election Board and county election
12   boards shall not release information, data, or records received from
13   the State Department of Health for the purpose of identifying
14   deceased voters in response to an Oklahoma Open Records Act request
15   and shall protect the integrity of the vital records data to the
16   extent required of the State Department of Health by Section 1-323
17   of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
18       B.   The registration of a deceased voter shall be canceled by
19   the secretary of a county election board upon the receipt of a
20   certified copy of a death certificate from any person or upon the
21   execution by the next of kin of such deceased voter of a form and
22   upon the nature of proof of the fact thereof as prescribed by the
23   Secretary of the State Election Board.   Such form must be executed
24   in person by the deceased voter's next of kin at the county election
     Req. No. 7129                                                     Page 2
1    board office, in which case it shall be witnessed by the secretary
2    or other designated employees, at the deceased voter's precinct
3    polling place or at the next of kin's precinct polling place in the
4    same county on the day of any election, in which case it shall be
5    witnessed by the inspector of such precinct, or the form may be
6    personally signed by the next of kin, such signature to be notarized
7    by a notary public or witnessed by two persons whose signatures and
8    addresses shall appear on the form, and returned to the county
9    election board.
10      C.   The administrator of a nursing facility, as defined in
11   Section 1-1902 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or the
12   administrator of a State Veterans Home established pursuant to Title
13   72 of the Oklahoma Statutes, also may execute a form prescribed by
14   the Secretary of the State Election Board to notify the secretary of
15   the county election board of the death of a nursing facility
16   resident who is a registered voter.   The administrator's signature
17   on such form shall be witnessed by a member of the nursing home
18   absentee voting board, shall be notarized or shall be witnessed by
19   two persons whose signatures and addresses shall appear on the form.
20      D.   A funeral director, as defined in Section 396.2 of Title 59
21   of the Oklahoma Statutes, may execute a form prescribed by the
22   Secretary of the State Election Board to notify the secretary of the
23   county election board of the death of a resident of the county.     The
24   funeral director's signature on such form either shall be notarized
     Req. No. 7129                                                    Page 3
1    or shall be witnessed by two persons whose signatures and addresses
2    shall appear on the form.   Upon receipt of such form or any notice
3    setting forth substantially the same facts and witnessed or
4    notarized as provided in this section, the secretary of the county
5    election board shall be authorized to cancel the voter registration
6    of such deceased person.
7       E.   The registration of a deceased voter who was a member of the
8    Oklahoma National Guard or the Armed Forces of the United States and
9    who died in the line of duty may be canceled by the secretary of a
10   county election board upon the receipt of notification of the
11   voter's death from the Oklahoma National Guard or the Armed Forces
12   of the United States.   The Secretary of the State Election Board may
13   prescribe the forms of such notification to be accepted by the
14   county election board in order to cause the registration of the
15   voter to be canceled.   The Secretary shall further request the
16   Oklahoma National Guard and the Armed Forces of the United States to
17   provide notifications to the county election board as provided for
18   in this section.
19      F.   The Secretary of the State Election Board is authorized to
20   shall obtain official death records from the Social Security
21   Administration and from other states.   The Secretary of the State
22   Election Board may shall compare such death records against the
23   state's voter registration database.    Any possible match of a death
24   record to a registered voter shall be transmitted to the secretary
     Req. No. 7129                                                     Page 4
1    of the county election board in the county in which the voter is
2    registered.   The secretary of the county election board shall
3    ascertain any voter who is deceased, and shall remove such deceased
4    person's name from the central registry and voter registration
5    database.
6        SECTION 2.   This act shall become effective January 1, 2024.
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8        59-1-6238      LRB     01/17/23
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     Req. No. 7129                                                    Page 5