HB 2106: Administration of elections; scheduling; permissible dates; effective date. - Oklahoma

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

MODERATE

The bill was amended during its passage from the House to the Senate, primarily to reorganize the structure of election date provisions and clarify the language governing when special elections can be held. The Senate version renumbered and restructured subsections to improve clarity and added a new provision limiting December special elections to once every four years.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on election scheduling for political subdivisions in Oklahoma, but the Senate amendments added a specific four-year limit on December special elections and reorganized the statutory language for better readability.

REQUIREMENT

Restructured the bill's subsections (renumbered from B through G to A through G) to improve organization and clarity of election date provisions.

Added a new provision in subsection G limiting special elections held in December to no more than one every four years.

TECHNICAL

Corrected formatting inconsistencies and reorganized the list of permissible election dates for special elections called by the Governor.

TIMELINE

Adjusted the effective date provision to align with the Senate floor version while maintaining the November 1, 2025 effective date.

HB2106 (5-06-25) (PAXTON) FA1.PDF → Floor (House) · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was converted from a Senate chamber version to a House floor version, with substantive changes to election date rules for political subdivisions in Oklahoma. The House version expanded the number of allowable election dates and clarified rules for special elections, particularly for filling vacancies. Several section numbers were reorganized and some dates were corrected during the conversion process.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include more specific election date options for various political subdivisions, including municipalities, school districts, and fire protection districts. The House version added additional dates for special elections and clarified filing deadlines for elections held on the same day as federal or state elections.

REQUIREMENT

Election date rules were reorganized and expanded to include additional allowable dates for special elections and vacancy filling.

New provisions were added requiring municipalities with populations over 250,000 to hold elections on specific dates in odd-numbered years.

TIMELINE

Filing deadlines for election resolutions were clarified to 75 days before election dates, with candidate filing periods beginning 10 days after resolution filing.

TECHNICAL

The document format changed from Senate chamber disposition to House floor version with page numbers and committee amendment markers added.

Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill → HB2106 (5-06-25) (PAXTON) FA1.PDF · 4 edits

MODERATE

This amendment modifies the scheduling rules for special elections in Oklahoma, particularly clarifying when special elections can be held and adjusting the filing deadlines for municipalities. The changes affect the Governor's authority to call special elections and establish clearer timelines for candidate filing periods.

Scope change

The bill's scope was modified to clarify the dates on which special elections can be held and to adjust the filing deadlines for elections in municipalities with larger populations.

TIMELINE

Amended the dates on which the Governor can call special elections, removing references to odd-numbered years in some instances and adding specific dates for vacancy elections.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the candidate filing period deadline from 20 days after resolution filing to a more specific timeline tied to the election date, affecting when candidates must file in special elections.

ELIGIBILITY

Adjusted the rules for municipalities with populations over 250,000 regarding when they can hold elections, clarifying the frequency limits for December elections.

TECHNICAL

Made technical corrections to the text, including fixing word order and clarifying language around election dates and filing periods.

Engrossed → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended by the Policy Committee to update the title and formatting to reflect it as a proposed substitute version. The substantive policy content regarding election dates and procedures remains unchanged from the previous engrossed version.

TECHNICAL

Title and header formatting changed from 'Engrossed House Bill' to 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to indicate the bill is in committee review stage.

Page numbering and document identification numbers were updated to reflect the new committee substitute version.

Committee amendment header and signature lines were added to document the legislative process.

Original engrossed bill header and page footers were removed as they are no longer applicable to the committee substitute version.

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · Mar 24, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates Oklahoma election scheduling rules to provide more flexibility for holding elections on various dates throughout the year, particularly for special elections and vacancies. The changes allow elections to be held on additional dates in both even and odd-numbered years, including new options for special elections called by the Governor and adjustments to filing deadlines.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of election scheduling authority to include more date options for special elections, particularly for vacancies and emergency situations, while maintaining the core requirement that regular elections follow established schedules.

TIMELINE

Regular election dates were modified to allow elections on the second Tuesday of February, first Tuesday of April, date of statewide/federal elections in even years, second through fourth Tuesdays of September in odd years, and second Tuesday of November in odd years.

New special election dates were added for odd-numbered years including the second Tuesday of January, first Tuesday of March, first Tuesday of May, second Tuesday of July, second Tuesday of September, first Tuesday of October, and first Tuesday of December.

Governor's special election authority was expanded to include additional dates: second Tuesday of January, first Tuesday of March, first Tuesday of May, second Tuesday of July, second Tuesday of September, first Tuesday of October, and first Tuesday of December.

Holiday scheduling rules were clarified to move elections to the next Tuesday if they fall on state holidays, and candidate filing periods to the next business day if they fall on weekends or holidays.

REQUIREMENT

Special election filing requirements were modified to allow municipalities with populations over 250,000 to hold elections on the second Tuesday of December in odd-numbered years.

House Committee Substitute → Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill was amended to transition from a House Committee Substitute to a Senate Committee Substitute for Engrossed House Bill 2106. The substantive policy content regarding election scheduling dates, filing periods, and effective dates remains unchanged, though the bill text was reformatted and renumbered during the legislative process.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated from 'relating to elections' to 'relating to administration of elections' and the list of sponsors was expanded to include additional legislators.

Page numbering and requirement numbers were updated to reflect the Senate Committee Substitute version (Req. No. 1985 instead of 13156).

Line breaks and formatting were adjusted throughout the document during the committee substitution process, but no substantive policy language was altered.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 → House Committee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended to update its title and formatting to conform with House Committee Substitute standards. The substantive policy content regarding election dates and procedures remains unchanged, but the bill's classification was adjusted from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute' to reflect its current legislative status.

TECHNICAL

Bill title changed from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute' to reflect current legislative stage

Request number updated from 12604 to 13156 to track new version in legislative system

Date stamp updated from 2/13/2025 to 3/4/2025 reflecting committee amendment timeline

Formatting adjustments made to align with House Committee Substitute markup standards

Administration of elections; scheduling; permissible dates; effective date.

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