{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-51-51-10","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 51, § 51-10","heading":"Vacancies - Appointments - Special elections","body":"A. All vacancies in state offices, except in offices of the\n\nmembers of the Legislature and members of the House of\n\nRepresentatives from Oklahoma in the Congress of the United States\n\nof America, shall be filled by appointment by the Governor.\n\nB. When a vacancy occurs in the office of district judge,\n\nassociate district judge, or judge of any intermediate appellate\n\ncourt, the Governor shall, in filling such vacancy, utilize the\n\nservices of the Judicial Nominating Commission in the manner as\n\nprovided for in the filling of judicial offices under Section 4,\n\nArticle VII-B of the Oklahoma Constitution.\n\nC. When a vacancy occurs in the office of a member of the\n\nUnited States Senate from Oklahoma, the Governor shall, within\n\nthirty (30) days of occurrence of the vacancy:\n\n1. Appoint a person eligible to hold such office, who has been\n\na registered voter of the party of the predecessor in Oklahoma for\n\nat least five (5) years preceding the date that the vacancy was\n\ncreated, to serve in such office until a successor is elected; and\n\n2. Call a special election, if necessary, to fill such vacancy,\n\nas provided in Section 12-101 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes.\n\nD. Prior to an appointment pursuant to paragraph 1 of\n\nsubsection C of this section, a person who is a prospective\n\nappointee shall submit to the Secretary of State an oath affirming\n\nthat the person will not file as a candidate for the office when it\n\nnext appears on the ballot. The Secretary of State shall prescribe\n\nthe oath required by this paragraph, and any oath submitted shall be\n\npublic record and published on the website of the Office of the\n\nSecretary of State.\n\nE. All vacancies in county offices except the board of county\n\ncommissioners or except for any elective county office of any county\n\nin the State of Oklahoma having a population of more than six\n\nhundred thousand (600,000), according to the latest Federal\n\nDecennial Census shall be filled by appointment by the board of\n\ncounty commissioners. If such an appointment is made prior to the\n\nprescribed filing period for county officers in accordance with the\n\nprovisions of Section 131 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the\n\ncounty commissioners shall, at the time the appointment is made,\n\nproclaim a special election to fill the balance of the unexpired\n\nterm, providing the balance of the term does not expire in the year\n\nfollowing the next succeeding general election. In making the\n\nproclamation, the county commissioners shall establish the dates for\n\nthe filing period, primary election, runoff primary election and\n\ngeneral election to be the same as the next succeeding filing\n\nperiod, primary election, runoff primary election and general\n\nelection for county officers. The appointee shall be eligible to\n\nbecome a candidate at the special election, providing the appointee\n\nis otherwise qualified. The office to be filled shall be printed on\n\nthe same ballot as other county offices.\n\nR.L. 1910, § 4278. Amended by Laws 1933, c. 166, p. 383, § 1,\n\nemerg. eff. April 26, 1933; Laws 1965, c. 116, § 1, emerg. eff. May\n\n24, 1965; Laws 1968, c. 49, § 1, emerg. eff. March 18, 1968; Laws\n\n1971, c. 107, § 1, emerg. eff. April 27, 1971; Laws 1978, c. 20, §\n\n1, emerg. eff. March 8, 1978; Laws 1980, c. 272, § 28, eff. July 1,\n\n1980; Laws 1985, c. 178, § 22, operative July 1, 1985; Laws 1993, c.\n\n316, § 14, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Laws 2000, c. 167, § 1, eff. April 1,\n\n2001; Laws 2021, c. 582, § 2, emerg. eff. May 28, 2021.","path":["OK Code","Title 51"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os51.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"24ac6e6b4feab5834869641547c7b027b59b004d7a8fc84c2624fd732787d210","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-51-51-1","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-51-51-100"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}