Okla. Admin. Code § 230:30-11-6.1

Current through Vol. 41, No. 18, June 3, 2024

Section 230:30-11-6.1 - Receiving voted absentee ballots by fax from uniformed services and overseas voters

(a) All uniformed services and overseas voters are entitled to fax their voted absentee ballot to the State Election Board or to the County Election Board that issued the ballot. Uniformed services and overseas voters who request a faxed ballot for federal offices as described in 230:30-9-5.1 must return said ballot by fax. Uniformed services and overseas voters may fax the federal write-in absentee ballot described in 230:30-13-1 through 230:30-13-4 at any time. Uniformed services and overseas voters who request that ballots be transmitted by electronic mail must return said ballot either by regular mail or by fax.

(b) A uniformed services or overseas voter described in (a) of this section may fax a copy of the voted ballot either to the State Election Board or to the County Election Board that issued the ballot in addition to mailing the original ballot to the issuing County Election Board. A fax cover sheet for this purpose may be downloaded and printed from the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) website: www.fvap.gov. Uniformed services voters may obtain copies of the fax cover sheet from the Voting Service Officers in their units. Overseas voters may obtain the cover sheet at United States embassies, consulates, and military installations. A voter who chooses to fax a voted ballot must sign a Secret Ballot Waiver and transmit it with the ballot. All faxed ballots must be received by the State Election Board or by the County Election Board no later than 7 p.m. (United States Central Time Zone) on the date of the election in order for the ballot to be counted. In the event that a voter's regular ballot is received by mail at the County Election Board prior to 7 p.m. on election day, only the voter's regular ballot shall be counted. The voter shall follow these instructions to fax a voted ballot to the State Election Board or to the County Election Board.

(1) After marking the ballot, make a photocopy of the ballot, reduced as necessary to fit an 8 and 1/2" by 11" page. Do not alter the original ballot.

(2) Fill out and sign the affidavit envelope included with the mail absentee ballot.

(3) Fill out the fax cover sheet.

(4) Fax the cover sheet, affidavit, and voted ballot to one of the secure numbers provided by the FVAP for ballot transmission.

(5) Immediately mail the voted original ballot to the County Election Board. Follow the instructions included with the ballot.

(c) The Secretary of the State Election Board shall assign one or more employees to receive and process voted ballots faxed by uniformed services and overseas voters. Upon receipt by fax of a voted ballot, the assigned employees shall take the following steps to transmit the ballot and related information to the appropriate County Election Board Secretary.

(1) Verify that each voted ballot is accompanied by a fax cover sheet that includes the following information:

(A) the voter's name

(B) the voter's county of residence in Oklahoma

(C) the voter's signature on the Secret Ballot Waiver

(D) the voter's signed Affidavit if the faxed ballot is a copy of the voter's regular mail absentee ballot

(2) Stamp the fax cover sheet with the date and time it was received and immediately transmit both the cover sheet and the ballot to the appropriate County Election Board Secretary. If the Secretary does not have a fax machine in the office, notify the Secretary that a voted absentee ballot is being transmitted.

(3) In the event that a voted ballot is received without an appropriate identifying cover sheet and/or without the voter's signature on the Secret Ballot Waiver, the ballot shall be set aside in a secure place. If possible, immediately send a notice that the transmission was incomplete and that the ballot cannot be counted. Instruct the voter to send both the cover sheet and the ballot again. Document the receipt of the unidentified ballot and then destroy it.

(4) In the event that an identifying cover sheet is received without the voted ballot, set the cover sheet aside in a secure place. If possible, immediately send notice that the transmission was incomplete and the ballot was not received. Instruct the voter to send both the cover sheet and the ballot again. If the voter does not send the cover sheet and ballot again by 7 p.m. in the United States Central Time Zone on election day, document the receipt of the cover sheet without the ballot, and notify the County Election Board Secretary that the voter attempted to return the ballot but the ballot was not received.

(5) Ballots received by fax after 7 p.m. on election day in Oklahoma shall not be counted.

(6) Mail the original faxed ballot and cover sheet to the appropriate County Election Board.

(d) Upon receipt by fax of a voted ballot from the State Election Board, the Secretary of the County Election Board shall take the following steps.

(1) Attach the fax cover sheet to the ballot with a paper clip, fold the sheets in half and place in the locked absentee ballot box. If the ballot is received from the State Election Board on election day after the absentee ballot box has been opened, place the faxed ballot in a secure place until the County Election Board members are ready to count the ballot.

(2) Enter the date received in the voter's absentee application information in MESA.

(3) After 7 p.m. on election day, the members of the County Election Board shall mark a substitute ballot and count it as instructed in 230:30-19-6.

(e) Upon receipt by fax of a voted ballot from a uniformed services voter or an overseas voter, the Secretary of the County Election Board shall follow the same steps outlined in (c) of this section.

(f) A voter who faxes a voted ballot to the State Election Board or to a County Election Board as described in this section is instructed to sign a Secret Ballot Waiver. The Secret Ballot Waiver is part of the fax cover sheet provided by the FVAPon its website and to voters who receive their absentee ballots and balloting materials online through the OMOBO system. If neither of these cover sheets is available, the voter may include the following signed statement among the materials faxed with the voted ballot. "I understand that by faxing my voted ballot I am voluntarily waiving my right to a secret ballot." This statement should be signed and dated by the voter. Failure of a voter to sign or to include a secret ballot waiver shall not be grounds for rejecting the voter's absentee ballot.

(g) Oklahoma law does not allow uniformed services or overseas voters to return voted ballots to the County Election Board by electronic mail. Ballots from these voters may be returned only as outlined in this section.

Okla. Admin. Code § 230:30-11-6.1

Added at 21 Ok Reg 550, eff 2-3-04 (emergency); Added at 21 Ok Reg 3145, eff 7-22-04 (emergency); Added at 22 Ok Reg 1869, eff 7-1-05; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 78, eff 9-1-05 (emergency); Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1285, eff 7-1-06; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2532, eff 7-15-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 598, eff 1-1-10 (emergency); Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1133, eff 6-1-10

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 36, Issue 24, September 3, 2019, eff. 9/16/2019