HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.sag/sagok0057 and id is 1 raw text is:
JOHN M. O'CONNOR
ATTORNEY GENERAL
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION
2022-1
The Honorable Dr. George E. Young, Sr. January 13, 2022
Oklahoma State Senate, District 48
2300 N. Lincoln Boulevard, Room 518
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Dear Senator Young:
This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask,
in effect, the following questions:
1. What effect, if any, does a Governor's commutation of a person's felony
sentence have on that person's eligibility to register to vote?
2. If an individual participates in and successfully completes a drug court
program, which results in the charges being dismissed, is there any effect on
the individual's eligibility to register to vote?
I.
BACKGROUND
The Oklahoma Constitution enshrines Oklahomans' right to vote in the following terms: Subject
to such exceptions as the Legislature may prescribe, all citizens of the United States, over the age
of eighteen (18) years, who are bona fide residents of this state, are qualified electors of this state.
OKLA. CONST. art. III, § 1 (emphasis added). As permitted by the Constitution, the Legislature in
the Election Code enacted certain limitations regarding the right to vote. Most broadly, an
individual must be properly registered in order to vote. 26 O.S.2021, § 4-102. And relevant to your
questions, the Legislature provided that [p]ersons convicted of a felony shall be eligible to register
to vote when they have fully served their sentence of court-mandated calendar days, including
any term of incarceration, parole or supervision, or completed a period of probation ordered by
any court.. . . 26 O.S.2021, § 4-101(1) (emphasis added).
Your questions involve the interpretation of this provision if (i) the person's sentence is commuted
by the Governor, or (ii) the person participates in, and successfully completes, a drug court
program. Accordingly, further explanation of each scenario may be helpful.
313 N.E. 21sT STREEr * OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73105 * (405) 521-3921 - FAx: (405) 521-6246
i recycled paper](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/sagok0057&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)