SECTION 230:20-3-37. Receiving, reviewing, and accepting Declarations of Candidacy

(a)   The Secretary of the Election Board or a designee of the Secretary shall scrutinize all information included on each page of the Declaration of Candidacy. Specifically, the Secretary or designee shall confirm the following facts regarding the Declaration:

(1)   Determine whether the person who brings a Declaration of Candidacy to file is the candidate in person or an agent acting on behalf of the candidate. If the Declaration of Candidacy is brought in by an agent, check the NIP box ("not in person") at the bottom left of the Candidate Information and Oath page. Also check the NIP box if a Declaration of Candidacy is received by mail.

(2)   Verify that all required pages of the Declaration of Candidacy are present. All candidates are required to file the Candidate Information and Oath page and the appropriate Candidate Qualifications page for the office sought. A candidate who checks YES to either question in the Criminal Disclosure section of the Candidate Information and Oath page is required to complete and file the Criminal History Disclosure form.

(3)   Verify that the candidate's signature on the Candidate Information and Oath page is notarized or witnessed by an appropriate authority. Check to see that both the Notary Public's signature and an impression of the Notary's seal are present on the Candidate Information and Oath page. See 230:20-3-35.

(4)   If the candidate presents a petition in support of the Declaration of Candidacy, verify that it contains, at minimum, the number of signatures required for the office sought. See 230:20-3-33.

(A)   Count the total number of signatures on the petition.

(B)   Check the PET box at the bottom right of the Candidate Information and Oath page and record the total number of submitted signatures in the space provided.

(5)   If the candidate presents a cashier's check or certified check, verify that the check is in the proper amount for the office sought and is in the proper form. See 230:20-3-33.

(6)   After verifying that the Declaration of Candidacy presented includes all necessary pages and supporting items, the Secretary or Secretary's designee shall read aloud the information entered on each line of the Candidate Information and Oath page to the candidate to give the candidate opportunity to verify that it is correct.

(A)   Read the candidate's name as it appears on the first line and verify that is the way the candidate intends his or her name to be printed on the ballot. Spell the candidate's name aloud.

(B)   Read the candidate's full legal name.

(C)   Read the title of the office for which the candidate is filing, including the district number, if applicable.

(D)   Read the candidate's residence address, including the ZIP code.

(E)   Read the candidate's mailing address, including the ZIP code.

(F)   Read the candidate's precinct number and county name.

(G)   Indicate aloud whether the candidate checked Yes or No in the Criminal Disclosure section. If the candidate checked Yes, verify that the Criminal History Disclosure form is included, completed and signed by the candidate.

(H)   Verify that the appropriate Candidate Qualifications page for the office sought is included and signed.

(b)   After conducting the review of the contents of a Declaration of Candidacy as described in (a) of this Section, the Secretary shall accept a Declaration of Candidacy unless the Declaration of Candidacy, as defined in 230:20-3-4, shows on its face that the candidate does not meet the qualifications to become a candidate for the office as such qualifications are set forth in the Oklahoma Constitution, statutes, or the resolution calling the election, or in the case of a home rule charter city, in the city charter. [26:5-117]

(1)   If the candidate's date of birth shows that an age qualification for the office sought is not met, the Declaration of Candidacy shall be rejected.

(2)   If the date of conviction and length of original sentence on a Criminal History Disclosure form shows the candidate to be ineligible to file for or hold the office being sought, the Secretary immediately shall attempt to contact the District Attorney or the Assistant District Attorney assigned to the county or to contact the State Election Board office for advice before accepting or rejecting the Declaration.

(3)   If any other information provided in a Declaration of Candidacy appears to show the candidate is ineligible to file for or to hold the office being sought, the Secretary immediately shall attempt to contact the District Attorney or Assistant District Attorney or the State Election Board office for advice before accepting or rejecting the Declaration.

(c)   If there are errors on any part of a Declaration of Candidacy, the Secretary shall point out such errors to the candidate. The candidate then shall correct the errors and sign his or her initials beside the correction. Only the candidate may make corrections on any part of a Declaration of Candidacy.

[Source: Amended at 18 Ok Reg 1870, eff 7-1-01; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 474, eff 1-2-03 (emergency); Amended at 20 Ok Reg 1093, eff 7-1-03; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2530, eff 7-15-09; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1642, eff 7-15-13; Amended at 33 Ok Reg 1415, eff 9-11-16; Amended at 35 Ok Reg 565, eff 3-15-18 (emergency); Amended at 35 Ok Reg 1203, eff 9-14-18]