Committee approves bill to add prior‑residence field on voter registration cards
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Summary
The Elections and Ethics Committee passed Senate Bill 1451, which would add a field to voter registration cards to indicate prior county or state and permit the State Board of Elections to use existing printed cards; the board’s secretary said inter‑state cancellation is not automatic and relies on notification.
The Oklahoma Elections and Ethics Committee voted to pass Senate Bill 1451 after a brief discussion about how states notify one another when voters move across state lines.
Representative Roberts explained that the bill would change voter registration cards to include a space for registrants to note a previous county or state, allowing the secretary of the State Board of Elections to identify registrants who have moved and notify the other state to remove them from its rolls. An untimely proposed committee substitute (PCS) was adopted so the Board can use the existing stock of printed cards until new ones are implemented.
The measure’s supporters said the change is intended to improve communication between states and help “clean up both states’ voter rolls.” Representative Dallins asked whether the process is automatic when someone registers in another state. Paul Cierich, secretary of the State Election Board, told the committee, “It is not automatic… I think this is just codifying it, but there's not an automatic process. It relies on the notification by the voter that that person has moved to another state.” He added that most states notify others when they learn a registrant has left.
Cierich also warned that voting in the same election in two states is a federal crime. Committee members said the bill clarifies procedures for inter‑state communication rather than creating a unilateral automatic cancellation mechanism.
The committee recorded a vote of 5 aye and 1 nay and Chairman Olsen declared the bill passed out of committee.
