SECTION 230:15-9-18. Entering paper applications for voter registration in MESA

(a)   Entering voter registration application information in MESA. All information provided by the applicant on a paper voter registration application form shall be entered into MESA. Follow the appropriate software instructions to enter the voter registration data. Refer to the following rules to resolve questions about individual applications.

(1)   Received date. The received date is the date stamped or written on a voter registration application form by the agency that first receives it from the applicant.

(A)   The received date for an application submitted by mail is the date the State Election Board received and stamped it. The State Election Board's blue received date stamp is applied to the back of the form.

(B)   The received date for an application submitted at a motor license agency or at any voter registration agency identified in 230:15-5-122 and 230:15-5-123 is the date stamped or written by agency personnel in the space provided for this purpose on the face of the form.

(C)   The received date for a paper voter registration application submitted at the County Election Board in person by an applicant or by a third party on the behalf of an applicant shall be the date stamped on the back of the form by the County Election Board.

(D)   The received date for a voter registration application bearing no date stamped or written by a receiving agency is the date by the applicant beside his or her signature on the form.

(2)   Postmark. The postmark date from a voter registration application submitted by mail shall be entered in the voter registration software. If there is no postmark or if the date is missing or illegible, leave the postmark field blank. If multiple paper voter registration applications are received by mail at the State Election Board in a single envelope with a postmark, the postmark date from that envelope is applied to each application with a red stamp.

(3)   Name. Enter the voter's name exactly as provided on the application form.

(4)   Political affiliation. Enter the voter's choice of political party as it appears on the application form. If the voter marked the "No Party" box, select "Independent" from the drop-down menu. (There is not an Independent Party in Oklahoma. Independent means "no party.") If the applicant neither chose nor wrote in a party in the Political Affiliation section on the application form, if the applicant marked more than one party, or wrote in a party that is not recognized in Oklahoma, the political affiliation field on the screen shall be left blank with the result that the software will automatically designate the applicant's affiliation as Independent. See also 230:15-5-84 and 230:15-9-22.

(5)   Date of birth. An applicant for new voter registration must provide his or her date of birth (month, day, and year) on the application form. See 230:15-5-84. An application for new registration that does not include the date of birth shall be rejected. See 230:15-9-31. In the event that a registered voter submits an application for change of registration and does not provide his or her date of birth, the application shall be rejected unless both of the following circumstances exist.

(A)   The application is valid in all other respects and County Election Board personnel are able to make positive identification of the voter from other information on the application form and from information already recorded in the voter registration database.

(B)   The voter's date of birth already is recorded in the voter registration database.

(6)   Identification number. Enter the Oklahoma driver license number and/or last four digits of the Social Security number. If the applicant does not provide either of these identification numbers, but checks the appropriate box on the application form to indicate that the applicant does not possess either of these numbers, check the corresponding box on the screen. If the applicant used an older version of the Oklahoma Voter Registration Application form that does not provide a check box for the applicant to indicate that he or she does not possess either of these identification numbers, the application shall be rejected.

(7)   Duplicates. When voter registration application information is entered in MESA, the software automatically searches for and identifies duplicate or potential duplicate records in the state. The search criteria are first name, last name, and date of birth and/or an identification number such as the last four digits of the Social Security number or driver license number. If an application appears to duplicate an existing voter registration either in your county or in another county, follow the appropriate software instructions and the procedure described in 230:15-9-23 to investigate and resolve the potential duplication.

(8)   Residence address. An applicant for voter registration is required to provide his or her residence address on the application form. Enter the applicant's residence address in the appropriate fields on the screen. If the address cannot be assigned in the Street Guide based on the information entered, see 230:15-9-18.1.

(9)   Mailing address. If the applicant provided a mailing address different from his or her residence address, enter the mailing address. If the applicant's mailing address is the same as the residence address or if the space for mailing address is blank, leave the mailing address field on the screen blank.

(10)   County of Residence. An applicant for voter registration is required to indicate the county of his or her residence. An application on which the county of residence is either not indicated or is indicated incorrectly shall be entered in the voter registration software with one of the following results.

(A)   If the address is located within the county, the application shall be approved.

(B)   If the address is not located within the county, but County Election Board personnel are able to determine the county in which the voter's residence is located, the application form shall be mailed directly to the correct county.

(C)   If another county is indicated on the form, the application shall be mailed directly to the correct County Election Board.

(D)   If the address is not located within the county and the correct county cannot be determined, the application shall be rejected with the "OT" ("Other") rejection code. When the blank rejection notice is printed, write or type Enter the following sentences in the space free-form text field provided on screen: "You did not indicate the county in which you reside on your application for voter registration. Your application cannot be processed without this information. You must submit a new application form that indicates your county of residence." This information will be added to the voter registration rejection notice addressed to this voter. It is recommended that a new Oklahoma Voter Registration Application form be enclosed with the rejection notice.

(11)   Rejection codes. An application for new voter registration that does not contain all the required information listed in 230:15-5-84 shall be rejected. The software automatically applies a rejection code for insufficient name, insufficient address, insufficient identification number, insufficient date of birth, if the application duplicates an existing registration, and if the applicant is under 18 years of age. If the application is unsigned or if the application must be rejected for any other reason, County Election Board personnel flag the appropriate rejection code on the screen. See 230:15-9-31. Some automatic rejection codes may be overridden in the following circumstances.

(A)   The Under Age (UN) will become eligible on or before election day, as described in 230:15-5-2, follow the software instructions to override the automatic rejection code.

(B)   The Duplicate (DU) rejection code may be overridden if the approval of the new application would prevent the removal of an inactive voter.

(12)   Form codes. Oklahoma Voter Registration Application forms include a form code that must be recorded in MESA for statistical purposes. Form codes identify the agency from which the registration application originated. Form codes consist of ten alphanumeric characters. Once recorded in MESA, the part of the application form containing the form code shall be removed and shall not be retained.

(13)   Source codes. A code to identify the source of an application for statistical purposes shall be entered in the voter registration software. If the source of an application is a motor license agency, a specific four-digit agency code also shall be entered. After the source code is entered, the instruction section of the application form bearing the source identification shall be removed and destroyed. It shall not be retained in the Central File.

(14)   Previous registration information. If the applicant provided information about previous voter registration in another state or in another county in Oklahoma, enter the previous registration information in the appropriate fields on the screen. If the applicant was previously registered in another county in Oklahoma, some previous information may be filled in automatically by the software. Do not enter information about former registration in your own county in these fields.

(15)   Eligibility questions and oath. The applicant shall answer the two eligibility questions and shall sign and date the oath. If an applicant fails to answer the two questions but signs and dates the oath, the application shall be rejected. If the applicant answers either question "No," the application shall be rejected. (On older versions of the Oklahoma Voter Registration Application form, these eligibility questions are located in the instructions area of the form.) If the applicant answers the eligibility questions "Yes," but fails to sign and date the oath, the application shall be rejected.

(b)   Filing voter registration applications. If a voter registration application is determined to be valid and is approved, place the application form in the appropriate valid application file until voter identification cards are printed. After the voter identification card is mailed to the voter, file the application form in the Central File. If a voter registration application must be rejected, file the application in the appropriate rejected application file.

[Source: Added at 12 Ok Reg 2225, eff 7-1-95; Amended at 14 Ok Reg 2624, eff 7-1-97; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 522, eff 1-1-99 (emergency); Amended at 16 Ok Reg 2404, eff 7-1-99; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 2340, eff 7-1-00; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 1862, eff 7-1-01; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 1859, eff 7-1-05; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1279, eff 7-1-06; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 1913, eff 7-1-08; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1124, eff 6-1-10; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 1132, eff 7-1-11; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1631, eff 7-15-13; Amended at 35 Ok Reg 1185, eff 9-14-18; Amended at 36 Ok Reg 1539, eff 9-16-19]