(a)
Reasons for rejection.
An application for absentee ballots shall be rejected if any one of the following conditions, or other reasons prescribed in 26 O.S. Section 14-105, occurs.
(1)
The applicant is not a registered voter in the county.
(2)
The application is not properly signed, except as provided in (d) of this Section.
(3)
The applicant is not eligible to vote in the election for which ballots are requested.
(4)
The application does not contain sufficient information to determine which ballots to send.
(5)
The application is received after the deadline prescribed in 26 O.S. Section 14-103.
(6)
The application is illegible.
(b)
Processing rejected application.
In the event that a voter's application for absentee ballots must be rejected, the application shall be entered into MESA and the reason for the rejection shall be noted on the screen. MESA will create a Notice of Rejection of Absentee Ballot Application for the voter which will detail the reason the application was rejected. If an Application for In-Person Absentee Ballots has been rejected, the application shall not be entered into MESA and, therefore, no Notice of Rejection will be created.
(c)
Form of rejection.
In the event that a voter's application for regular mail absentee ballots must be rejected for any reason, the Secretary shall print the Notice of Rejection of Absentee Ballot Application created by MESA and mail it to the voter. [26:14-133] If there is sufficient time for the voter to return a corrected application, a new application form shall be enclosed with the notice. In the event that an emergency incapacitated voter's application for absentee ballots must be rejected, the Secretary shall so advise the voter's agent and shall provide the agent with a Notice of Rejection of Absentee Ballot Application form, which shall be completed by the Secretary.
(d)
Exception to signature requirements for some absentee ballot applications.
Generally, absentee ballot applications must be signed by the applicant. However, some exceptions to this requirement shall be granted to some applicants who submit their applications through certain electronic methods.
(1)
Applications submitted by uniformed services and overseas voters on the Federal Post Card Application that are received by electronic mail may be accepted and processed without a physical, hand-written signature.
(2)
Applications submitted with the online absentee ballot application on the State Election Board website may be signed digitally and a physical, handwritten signature is not required.
Source
Amended at 8 Ok Reg 3635, eff 10-3-91 (emergency); Amended at 9 Ok Reg 2379, eff 7-1-92; Amended at 10 Ok Reg 2731, eff 7-1-93; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 598, eff 1-1-10 (emergency); Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1133, eff 6-1-10; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 1154, eff 7-1-11
History
Amended by
Oklahoma Register, Volume 34, Issue 24, September 1, 2017
, eff.
9/11/2017
Amended by
Oklahoma Register, Volume 40, Issue 19, July 3, 2023
, eff.
8/11/2023
Amended by
Oklahoma Register, Volume 41, Issue 21, July 15, 2024
, eff.
7/25/2024