{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-16-306","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 11-16-306","heading":"Presiding officer - Rules of order, conduct and decorum","body":"- Minutes - Ballots - Nomination and election of officials - False\n\naffidavits.\n\nA. Except as otherwise provided in this act, Section 16-301 et\n\nseq. of this title, the mayor shall be the presiding officer of town\n\nmeetings, shall decide questions of order and shall make public\n\ndeclaration of votes taken. Robert's Rules of Order shall govern\n\nall town meetings, except when such rules are inconsistent with\n\nOklahoma law. The presiding officer may establish other rules of\n\nconduct and decorum for the meetings consistent with the Oklahoma\n\nTown Meeting Act, Section 16-301 et seq. of this title. When the\n\noffice of mayor is vacant or if the mayor is unable to attend the\n\ntown meeting, one of the members of the governing body shall be\n\nelected by the remaining members of the governing body to preside\n\nover the town meeting.\n\nB. The municipal clerk shall keep the minutes of the meeting.\n\nThe minutes shall separately record the number of votes for and\n\nagainst each candidate and each question and shall record the total\n\nnumber of votes cast for each position. Paper ballots shall be\n\npreserved in the municipal clerk's office for a period of six (6)\n\nmonths following the town meeting at which said ballots were cast.\n\nC. Officials elected at town meetings shall be nominated and\n\nelected at large by the registered voters present from nominations\n\ntaken from the floor. Prior to accepting any nominations the\n\npresiding officer shall state the number of governing body offices\n\nto be elected for four-year terms and the number of governing body\n\noffices to be elected to fill unexpired terms, if any. There shall\n\nbe separate nominations and balloting for each designated term. The\n\nnominee who receives a plurality of the votes cast for the office of\n\nthe designated term shall be elected for that designated term. If\n\nmore than one office is to be filled for a designated term, the\n\nvoters shall vote for the designated number of offices to be filled\n\nand, the nominees receiving the largest pluralities shall be elected\n\nto those offices. All votes shall be taken by secret ballot;\n\nprovided that if there is only one candidate for an office, he or\n\nshe may be elected by acclamation upon proper motion. In case of a\n\ntie vote, the municipal clerk shall immediately select the electee\n\nor electees by lot as follows: The clerk shall write or print the\n\nnames of the tied nominees on similar pieces of paper and place the\n\npapers in a container in view of the persons attending the town\n\nmeeting. The clerk shall designate a person, who shall not be one\n\nof the nominees, to draw one name for each office to be filled and\n\nthe nominee or nominees whose names are so drawn shall be deemed\n\nelected. All other papers in the container shall then be exposed\n\nfor examination. Only a registered voter who has been a registered\n\nvoter at an address within the municipality for at least six (6)\n\nmonths prior to the date of the town meeting at which the elections\n\nare held shall be qualified for nomination for office. To be\n\neligible for election, any person who is nominated for office must\n\nswear under oath that he or she has been a registered voter at an\n\naddress within the municipality for the last six (6) months. Only\n\nqualified registered voters who are present at the town meeting at\n\nwhich the elections are held shall be eligible for nomination for\n\nmunicipal office, provided that a qualified registered voter who is\n\nnot present may be nominated if he or she has agreed in writing to\n\naccept the office if elected and has sworn an affidavit that he or\n\nshe has been a registered voter at an address within the\n\nmunicipality for the last six (6) months. Any person who falsely\n\nswears or signs a false affidavit that the person is qualified for\n\nmunicipal office shall be punished by a fine of not more than One\n\nThousand Dollars ($1,000.00).","path":["OK Code","Title 11"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os11.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"62d1c56537336998633004b2c19a840820e8a45f803256a10a88991bd376d593","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-16-305","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-16-307"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}