HB 1865: Elections; directing for ballots to be printed in advance of election; hours for voting; clarifying applicability to county election board; directing voter appear at assigned polling place; prohibiting voting centers; effective date; emergency. - Oklahoma

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

MODERATE

The bill was amended to remove provisions regarding the cancellation of voter registrations for individuals convicted of felonies in tribal courts and by United States Attorneys. Additionally, the bill was modified to explicitly prohibit the use of vote centers, allowing them only in specific emergency situations, and to clarify that subprecincts are not prohibited. These changes narrow the bill's scope by eliminating certain voter registration removal procedures and tightening restrictions on where voting can occur.

Scope change

The bill's scope was reduced by removing the mechanism for cancelling voter registrations based on tribal court felony convictions and federal felony convictions, and by reinforcing the prohibition against vote centers.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed the requirement for the Secretary of State to cancel voter registrations of persons convicted of felonies in tribal courts.

Removed the requirement to cancel voter registrations of persons convicted of felonies in United States district courts.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the voting location rules to explicitly prohibit the use of vote centers, permitting them only during declared emergencies.

DEFINITION

Clarified that the prohibition on voting centers does not apply to subprecincts.

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was formatted for the House floor version, adding the 'House of Representatives' header and a new co-sponsor from the Senate. The substantive policy text regarding felon voter registration, ballot printing, and voting center restrictions remains identical to the committee substitute.

Scope change

None; the bill's scope and applicability are unchanged.

TECHNICAL

Added 'House of Representatives - Floor Version' header and co-sponsorship by Bergstrom of the Senate.

Removed 'State of Oklahoma' header and the original 'Committee Substitute' title page text.

Reformatted page numbers and headers to match the House floor version style.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 → House Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted to remove the 'Proposed Policy Committee' label, and the content was significantly expanded to include new emergency exceptions for vote centers and clarifications regarding subprecincts. These changes allow county election boards to use vote centers during emergencies and explicitly permit the use of subprecincts, balancing the bill's goal of prohibiting vote centers with necessary operational flexibility.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded from a strict prohibition on vote centers to include specific emergency exceptions and clarifications on subprecinct usage.

REQUIREMENT

The prohibition on vote centers was modified to include an exception allowing their use during emergencies, such as natural disasters, limited to the precincts directly impacted.

New language was added to clarify that the prohibition on vote centers does not prevent the use of subprecincts or the assignment of precinct officials to multiple precincts sharing the same polling place.

TECHNICAL

The header identifying the document as a 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' was removed, updating the document title to simply 'Committee Substitute'.

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

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten to add a new section regarding the cancellation of voter registrations for individuals convicted of felonies in tribal courts or federal district courts, in addition to existing provisions about ballot printing and voting hours. This change expands the bill's scope from purely election logistics to include voter eligibility and registration management based on criminal convictions.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include the cancellation of voter registrations for persons convicted of felonies in tribal courts and federal courts, whereas the original version only addressed ballot printing and voting hours.

ELIGIBILITY

New provisions authorize the Secretary of the State Election Board to cancel voter registrations for individuals convicted of felonies in tribal courts and federal district courts upon receiving written notice.

REQUIREMENT

County court clerks are now required to prepare monthly lists of felony convictions and transmit them to the Secretary of the State Election Board for processing.

ENFORCEMENT

A new liability protection clause was added to shield election officials from civil lawsuits when canceling registrations based on felony conviction notices, provided they made reasonable efforts to match the data accurately.

SCOPE

The title and summary of the bill were updated to reflect the new focus on convicted felons and voter registration cancellation, replacing the previous focus solely on paper ballots and voting hours.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 2 edits · May 27, 2025

MINOR

The bill was finalized as Enrolled, retaining the core policy of canceling voter registrations for individuals convicted of felonies in both state and tribal courts. The text was cleaned up to remove internal editing marks and page numbers, resulting in a polished final version ready for the Governor's signature.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains unchanged; it continues to apply to all registered voters in Oklahoma who are convicted of felonies in either district courts or tribal courts.

TECHNICAL

Removed internal markup symbols (e.g., 1...1) and page headers/footers that were present in the draft version but are not part of the final law.

Reformatted the bill title and section headers to match standard legislative enrolled format, improving readability and official presentation.

Amended And Engrossed → Engrossed · 3 edits · May 8, 2025

MINOR

The amendment clarifies that the bill's restrictions on printing ballots and prohibiting vote centers do not apply to individuals with blindness, disabilities, or literacy challenges. It also adds a specific exception allowing counties to use vote centers during emergencies, provided the affected precincts are limited to those directly impacted.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by adding exemptions for voters with disabilities and clarifying the conditions under which vote centers may be used.

REQUIREMENT

Added an explicit exemption allowing the printing and marking of ballots for voters with blindness, disabilities, or inability to read/write, ensuring these voters are not restricted by new ballot printing rules.

Modified the prohibition on vote centers by adding a specific exception that allows their use during emergencies, but limits this to only the precincts directly affected by the emergency.

DEFINITION

Clarified that the use of subprecincts and assigning officials to multiple precincts remains permitted even under the new voting location restrictions.

Introduced → Amended And Engrossed · 4 edits · May 8, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add a new provision allowing the State Election Board to cancel voter registrations of individuals convicted of felonies in tribal courts upon receiving notice from tribal court clerks. This expands the bill's scope beyond existing provisions that only addressed federal convictions, ensuring tribal court judgments are treated with the same weight as state or federal convictions regarding voting rights.

Scope change

The bill now applies to convictions in tribal courts in addition to existing provisions covering federal and state convictions.

ELIGIBILITY

New authority for the Secretary of the State Election Board to cancel voter registrations of persons convicted of felonies in tribal courts based on written notice from tribal court clerks.

ENFORCEMENT

New requirement for county court clerks to prepare monthly lists of convicted felons and transmit them to county election boards for registration cancellation.

New immunity provision protecting election officials from civil liability when canceling registrations based on information from tribal courts or federal attorneys.

SCOPE

The bill's title and summary were updated to reflect the new inclusion of tribal court convictions alongside existing provisions for federal and state convictions.

Elections; directing for ballots to be printed in advance of election; hours for voting; clarifying applicability to county election board; directing voter appear at assigned polling place; prohibiting voting centers; effective date; emergency.

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