SB 139 Summary

• Requires elections for county offices to be conducted on a nonpartisan basis beginning with the 2012 election cycle, with candidates unable to declare party affiliation.

• Establishes a two-stage election process where all qualifying candidates appear on the Primary Election ballot, and if no candidate receives over 50% of votes, the top two advance to the General Election.

• Removes party registration requirements for county office candidates and updates candidate filing procedures, including Declaration of Candidacy forms that no longer require party affiliation designation.

• Addresses procedures for candidate death before elections, including ballot printing protocols and special election requirements for General Election candidate deaths.

• Modifies references to eliminate "runoff primary elections" for county officers and updates related statutes in election law, Title 26, Title 19, and Title 51 of the Oklahoma Statutes; effective November 1, 2011.