Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Voter registration offer. Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) Adult
and Family Services (AFS) staff is federally mandated to offer voter
registration services to applicants and recipients for qualifying events
included in (1) through (3) of this subsection. Qualifying events include when
persons:
(1) apply for AFS benefits, such as
Child Care Subsidy, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, SoonerCare
(Medicaid), State Supplemental Payment, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families;
(2) complete a mid-certification benefit
renewal, annual benefit renewal, or SNAP certification renewal; or
(3) report an address or name change.
(b)
Voter
registration forms. Voter registration forms include Form 08MP007E,
Voter Registration Statement, and the Oklahoma State Election Board's, Oklahoma
Voter Registration Application.
(1) The
applicant, recipient, or the worker records the applicant's or recipient's
decision to apply or decline to register to vote.
(2) When the applicant or recipient wants to
apply to register to vote or does not want to answer the question: "If you are
not registered to vote where you live now, would you like to apply to register
to vote here today?" on Form 08MP007E, Voter Registration Statement, AFS staff
gives or mails the Oklahoma Voter Registration Application to the applicant or
recipient.
(3) When the applicant
or recipient declines to apply to register to vote in writing, AFS staff does
not give or mail an Oklahoma Voter Registration Application to the applicant or
recipient.
(c)
Assistance completing the Oklahoma Voter Registration Application.
AFS staff offers the same degree of assistance to applicants and recipients
completing the Oklahoma Voter Registration Application as staff provides when
completing an AFS application and renewal.
(d)
Confidentiality. AFS staff
keeps the applicant's or recipient's decision to register or not to register to
vote and all voter registration materials confidential.
(e)
Prohibitions. AFS staff must
not:
(1) seek to influence an applicant's or
recipient's political preference or party registration;
(2) display political preference or party
allegiance;
(3) make statements or
take action that has the purpose or effect of discouraging the applicant or
recipient from registering to vote; or
(4) make statements or take action that has
the purpose or effect of leading the applicant or recipient to believe that a
decision to apply to register or a decision not to register to vote has any
bearing on service or benefit availability.
(f)
Record retention. AFS staff
images and files a completed Form 08MP007E in the applicant's or recipient's
case record. Completed Form 08MP007Es are retained until the case record is
destroyed, per Oklahoma Administrative Code
340:65-1-5.
(g)
Training. AFS staff are
required to view voter registration training within 30 calendar days of their
enter on duty date and annually thereafter.
(h)
Voter registration site
coordinators. Each county director and field manager is responsible for
assigning voter registration site coordinators for the counties they manage.
Site coordinator duties include:
(1)
maintaining a sufficient supply of Oklahoma Voter Registration Application
forms;
(2) compiling completed and
partially completed Oklahoma Voter Registration Application forms daily and
mailing them to the Oklahoma State Election Board at the close of each business
week in the preaddressed, prepaid, postage envelopes the Oklahoma State
Election Board provides;
(3)
maintaining a weekly count of Oklahoma Voter Registration Application forms
mailed to the Oklahoma State Election Board and sending a monthly total to the
AFS regional office.
(4) being the
contact person for applicants, recipients, the public, or staff inquiries
regarding the voter registration process for the counties they serve;
(5) maintaining all voter registration
posters as required;
(6) monitoring
staff compliance with standard voter registration procedures included in this
Section; and
(7) monitoring the
staff's completion of annual voter registration training.
(i)
Data collection. OKDHS
produces a statewide monthly report regarding voter registration activity based
on weekly data collection.
Added at 30 Ok Reg 694, eff
6-1-13
