Okla. Admin. Code § 35:40-3-72

Current through Vol. 42, No. 7, December 16, 2024

Section 35:40-3-72 - Election process

(a) A valid voter shall indicate his eligibility to vote by providing a sales receipt of the referendum commodity dated within the last year.

(b) Elections may be conducted by mail. If elections are held by physical balloting, mailed ballots shall also be accepted.

(c) In case of mailed ballots, no ballot shall be valid if received after election date, regardless of postmark date. All ballots are to be mailed to the Department and are to be canvassed there.

(d) Ballot boxes shall be provided by the certified organization. The certified organization shall distribute the ballot boxes to all County Extension offices, unless an exception is provided by the Commissioner. (Counties without specific commodity production may be exempt)

(e) Physical balloting shall be conducted at O.S.U. County Extension offices statewide from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The county extension educator or his designee shall be present at all times unless otherwise prescribed by the Commissioner. Ballot boxes must be locked and unopened until the canvassing committee supervises the opening.

(f) Ballots shall bear signature and address of the producer to be valid.

(g) Instructions for election officials and voters shall be available in each election from the certified commodity organization and approved by the Commissioner. Ballots provided by the certified organization shall include voter instructions and the following statement:

The referendum proposition shall be adopted upon a finding that:

(1) Two-thirds (2/3) or more of those voting in the election voted in favor of the referendum proposition; or

(2) More that one-half (1/2) of those voting in the election voted in favor of the referendum proposition, and those voting in favor of the proposition produced at least fifty percent (50%) of the volume of the production of the commodity during the relevant production period.

(h) In the election process, ballots must be faxed to the Department within two (2) weeks prior to the election date and received no later than 4:00 p.m. on the election date.

(i) Election ballots and a sample ballot for the referendum and/or the election of the commodity board members shall be at the County Extension office at least two (2) weeks prior to the election. The sample ballot shall be on display to the public.

Okla. Admin. Code § 35:40-3-72

Added at 17 Ok Reg 299, eff 11-2-99 (emergency); Added at 17 Ok Reg 2871, eff 7-13-00