2014 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 2. Agriculture
§2-18-274. Election of Commission members.

A. Except for the ex officio member, each member of the Oklahoma Oilseed Commission shall be elected by the oilseed producers in the district that the member represents. Each member will represent the district in which the member resides and produces oilseed.

B. Any election of a member to the Commission shall be conducted pursuant to the procedures specified by the Oklahoma Oilseed Resources Act and by rules promulgated pursuant thereto.

C. 1. An oilseed producer who desires to be a candidate for the Commission shall file a petition signed by the potential candidate and at least ten oilseed producers in the district with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry for the initial election and with the Commission for subsequent elections. Along with the petition, the potential candidate shall submit an application for the applicant's name to be placed on the ballot. The application must be:

a.filed not later than thirty (30) days before the date set for the election, and

b.on a form approved by the Department for the initial election and approved by the Commission thereafter.

2. Upon receipt of an application and verification that the application meets the requirements of this section, an applicant's name shall be placed on the ballot for election to the Commission.

3. The election shall be preceded by at least forty-five (45) days' notice published in one or more newspapers published and distributed in the established election districts. The notice shall be published not less than once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks. The public notice shall include the date, time, and polling places for voting in the election and any other information deemed necessary by the Department for the initial election, and deemed necessary by the Commission to inform oilseed producers of the election. In addition, two (2) weeks before the date of the election, written notice shall be provided to each county agent of the cooperative extension service and each assessment location within the district in which the election is to be held.

D. 1. Each oilseed producer in the district who is actively engaged in the production of oilseed in commercial quantities in the current fiscal year of the calling of the election shall be entitled to vote in any election. The Department shall determine any questions of eligibility to vote in the initial election. Thereafter, the Commission shall determine questions of eligibility to vote. Proof of voter eligibility shall include, but not be limited to, a dated grain elevator receipt which includes the oilseed producer's name and address and the amount of oilseed sold.

2. It shall be the responsibility of each oilseed producer to prove the producer's eligibility to vote.

3. Each eligible oilseed producer is authorized to cast one vote in any district in which the person produces oilseed.

E. The Department shall bear all reasonable expenses incurred in conducting the election of the initial Commission. All the expenses shall be approved by the President prior to being incurred. Thereafter, any expenses incurred as a result of an election shall be borne by the Commission from any funds available to the Commission.

F. 1. For the initial election, the President shall approve the form of the ballot, and thereafter the Commission shall prepare the ballot.

2. Ballots shall be prepared and distributed in advance of the election.

3. The election ballot shall be printed with the names of candidates who have filed valid petitions and applications pursuant to this section. In addition, the ballot shall provide a space for write-in candidates.

4. Each ballot shall clearly state any voter eligibility requirements.

5. The ballot shall require the signature and place of residence of the oilseed producer voting in the election.

6. All prepared ballots shall be mailed or delivered in person to a location or locations designated by the Department for the initial election and by the Commission for elections held thereafter.

7. Rules promulgated by the State Board of Agriculture for the initial election, and by the Commission thereafter, shall be promulgated pursuant to Article I of the Administrative Procedures Act. The rules shall include, but not be limited to:

a.instructions to voters,

b.conduct of elections,

c.in-person absentee ballots or special write-in absentee ballots,

d.balloting in-person locations and a central location for mail-in ballots,

e.hours for voting,

f.write-in votes for any eligible person whose name is not printed on the ballot,

g.canvassing and reporting of returns, and

h.other information deemed necessary by the Commission.

G. 1. Ballots in all propositions and elections will be counted by a committee consisting of a representative of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, a representative of the Oklahoma Oilseed Commission, and a representative designated by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry.

2. The candidate receiving the largest number of votes cast in the district election shall be elected to office. In case of a tie vote, the President will cast the tie-breaking vote.

3. In all elections, results will be certified to the President for verification.

4. All ballots shall be locked in a container and stored in the county clerk's office in the county designated by the President. If no contests or investigations arise out of the election within thirty (30) days after the day of the election, the ballots may be destroyed by the office of the county clerk by shredding or burning after notification to the President and the Commission of the proposed destruction.

5. Any contest of the election or investigation shall be filed in district court in any county in the district holding the election within thirty (30) days after the day the ballots are counted.

6. In any case, if a recount is allowed by the district court, the court shall have the power to impound the locked ballot boxes and appoint a new canvassing committee consisting of three new representatives from the same background as the original canvassing committee.

Added by Laws 2008, c. 154, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2008.