HB 1678: Elections; tie votes; selection of nominee or electee; effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to clarify its purpose from resolving tie votes to a broader focus on election certifications and nominee selection procedures. The Senate version adds specific steps for how election boards must conduct tie-breaking lotteries, including written notifications to candidates, witness designations, and a transparent two-stage container process for drawing names. It also introduces an exemption for state officer elections and updates the committee reporting details.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded from a simple tie-breaking mechanism to include detailed procedural requirements for selecting nominees or electees by lot, while adding an exception for state officer elections.

REQUIREMENT

Added specific procedural steps for election boards, including written notice to candidates at least five days before a meeting and the option for candidates to designate a witness.

Revised the tie-breaking lottery procedure to require names to be written on separate pieces of paper, folded once to hide names, placed in opaque containers, and then placed inside a larger transparent container before being drawn.

ELIGIBILITY

Added an exemption stating that these tie-breaking procedures do not apply to elections for state officers as defined in the Oklahoma Constitution.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill title and summary to reflect the new focus on election certifications and modified the committee report attribution to the Judiciary Committee.

Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was revised to streamline the header and title information, removing redundant committee labels and consolidating the bill's description. The core policy regarding tie votes remains unchanged, but the formatting of the committee report and page headers was updated to reflect the House Floor version.

Scope change

The bill's substantive scope regarding tie vote procedures remains the same, but the document structure was simplified by removing duplicate 'Committee Substitute' headers and merging the title description.

TECHNICAL

Removed redundant 'Committee Substitute' and 'Engrossed' headers in the title block, replacing them with a single 'Committee Substitute' label.

Condensed the bill's descriptive title to remove the phrase 'election certifications' and simplify the list of actions to focus on tie votes and effective dates.

Updated page headers and footers to reflect the 'House Floor Version' and replaced the specific committee report date with a generic 'As Amended' status.

House Committee Substitute → Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to clarify that it applies to all election boards authorized to issue certified lists, rather than just a single board. The amendment also updated the statute's title to reflect broader changes regarding election certifications and tie votes, and added an exception for state officer elections.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to apply to any election board authorized by law to issue certified lists or certificates of election, rather than being limited to a specific board.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the requirement for tie vote resolution to apply to any election board authorized by law, instead of a specific board.

Added a specific exception stating that the tie vote resolution procedures do not apply to elections of state officers.

DEFINITION

Updated the bill title and scope description to include 'election certifications' and clarify that procedures apply to the selection of nominees or electees.

TECHNICAL

Corrected formatting errors in the bill text, such as removing duplicate section headers and fixing page numbering references.

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 → House Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was completely rewritten to replace a previous version, updating the official title and page numbers to reflect the new House Committee Substitute. The core policy regarding tie votes in elections remains consistent, detailing procedures for re-elections and lotteries to break ties.

Scope change

The bill's substantive scope regarding election tie-breaking procedures did not change; however, the document metadata and formatting were updated to reflect the new committee version.

TECHNICAL

The entire text of the bill was replaced with a new version, updating the header from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute' and changing the bill title to include specific details about tie votes and second elections.

Page reference numbers and request numbers were updated from 12437 to 12939 to match the new legislative document version.

The bill title was expanded to explicitly mention the amendment of 26 O.S. 2021, Section 8-105, and the provision for a second election in case of tie votes.

Enrolled (final version) → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten by the committee to simplify the tie-breaking process for elections. The most significant change is that if a tie occurs, a second vote will be held on the next available election date instead of immediately selecting a winner by lot. Additionally, the requirement for a public meeting to conduct the lot drawing was removed, and the specific rules for preparing and handling the ballot papers were simplified.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding tie-breaking procedures was narrowed and altered. It now mandates a second election rather than an immediate random selection, and it removes the requirement for a public meeting to witness the selection process.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the tie-breaking method from an immediate random selection by lot to requiring a second vote to be held on the next practicable election date.

Removed the requirement that the selection by lot must occur at a public meeting with candidates or their designees present.

Simplified the procedural rules for preparing the ballots used in the lot drawing, removing specific instructions about paper size, folding, and opaque containers.

TIMELINE

Updated the notification timeline to occur after the second election rather than after the initial tie vote.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 6 edits · May 29, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was finalized and renamed from 'Engrossed' to 'Enrolled,' indicating it has passed both legislative chambers and is ready for the Governor's signature. The substantive policy changes include clarifying the tie-breaking process by specifying that the election board must hold a public meeting to select a winner by lot, adding strict procedural rules for the drawing (such as using opaque containers and witnesses), and updating the notification timeline to occur within 10 days of the election rather than 10 days after a second vote. Additionally, the bill now explicitly exempts state officer elections from these tie-breaking procedures.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by adding an explicit exception for elections of state officers, which are now excluded from the tie-breaking procedures described in the act.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the tie-breaking procedure to require a public meeting where the election board selects a winner by lot in the presence of candidates or their designees.

Added detailed procedural requirements for the drawing, including the use of separate opaque containers, specific paper folding methods, and the option for candidates to designate witnesses.

Added a requirement that the selection meeting must be held on a weekday between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

TIMELINE

Changed the notification deadline for tied candidates from 'before the tenth day following the second election' to 'on or before the tenth day following the election'.

SCOPE

Added an explicit exception stating that the tie-breaking procedures do not apply to elections of state officers pursuant to the Oklahoma Constitution.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill title to reflect election certifications and procedures for selecting nominees or electees.

Amended And Engrossed → Engrossed · 4 edits · May 5, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to update its title and scope to include procedures for selecting nominees via lot in tie votes, while removing the requirement for a second election. The amendment also simplifies the tie-breaking procedures by reducing the number of containers used and removing the requirement for a larger transparent container, though it retains the core process of drawing names from folded papers.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from solely directing a second election to include a new mechanism for selecting nominees or electees by lot when tie votes occur in certain elections.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement to hold a second election in the case of tie votes was removed, replacing it with a procedure to select the winner by lot.

The physical procedure for the lot selection was simplified; the requirement for names to be placed in separate opaque containers inside a larger transparent container was removed, and the requirement for witnesses to be present was eliminated.

DEFINITION

The bill title was updated to reflect the new focus on election certifications and tie-breaking procedures rather than just tie votes.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the act was changed from an unspecified date to November 1, 2025.

Introduced → Amended And Engrossed · 4 edits · May 5, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to expand its scope from handling only tie votes to also managing election certification procedures. The Senate version adds new sections to address scenarios where three or more candidates tie for first place and creates an exception for state officer elections. The House version modifies the timeline for holding second elections to use the 'next practicable date' rather than a fixed 20-day window.

Scope change

The bill's scope was significantly expanded by the Senate amendment to include procedures for multi-candidate ties and to exempt state officer elections, while the House amendment adjusted the timing requirements for runoff elections.

SCOPE

Added a new provision (Section C) to handle situations where three or more candidates tie for first place, requiring all tied candidates to appear on the runoff ballot.

Added an exemption (Section D) stating that the tie-breaking procedures do not apply to the election of state officers under the Oklahoma Constitution.

TIMELINE

Changed the requirement for setting a second election date from a fixed 'twenty (20) days' to the 'next practicable election date' listed in another section of the law.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the notice deadline for tie vote selections from 'tenth day following the second election' to 'tenth day following the election' to clarify the trigger event.

Elections; tie votes; selection of nominee or electee; effective date.

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