(a) A statutory sanction imposed by the State Board of Election Commissioners that includes instituting a corrective action shall be governed by the following provisions:
- (1) A corrective action may require a respondent to comply with any election or voter registration law;
- (2) A corrective action may require the respondent to take steps that are reasonably calculated to ensure future compliance with election or voter registration laws;
(3)
- (A) The State Board of Election Commissioners may make an offer of settlement for a complaint contingent on the implementation of corrective actions so long as:
(i) The corrective action is within the authority and ability of the respondent to implement within one hundred eighty (180) days of the date the complaint was filed;
(ii) The offer defines the sanctions that will be imposed if the respondent fails to satisfy the requirements of the offer; and
- (iii) The offer provides clear requirements that the respondent must satisfy and clear instructions explaining how the respondent is required to certify the satisfaction of the offer to implement corrective action to the State Board of Election Commissioners.
- (B) In the event that a contingent offer is made to a member of the county board of election commissioners that requires an act of the county board of election commissioners as a body, an individual member will have satisfied their obligation to accept the offer by voting consistent with the corrective action or making a motion to implement the correction action regardless of whether the motion in question is adopted or fails for want of a second.
(C)
- (i) If the State Board of Election Commissioners makes an offer pursuant to subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section, the respondent shall have the lesser of one hundred eighty (180) days from the date the complaint was filed or thirty (30) days from the date the offer was made to comply with the requirements of the offer.
- (ii) The failure to comply with the requirements of the offer:
- (a) (a) Shall constitute a rejection of the offer; and
(b) (b) Results in the complaint being set for an administrative hearing at a date and time to be determined by the State Board of Election Commissioners; and
- (4) The State Board of Election Commissioners may issue a directive to a county to implement corrective action that is not contingent on acceptance, but that includes a warning of the sanction that the State Board of Election Commissioners will consider appropriate should a future complaint come before the State Board of Election Commissioners alleging the issues addressed by the corrective action.
- (b) The failure to implement the corrective action prescribed by an offer made by the State Board of Election Commissioners under this section shall not be considered evidence of the truthfulness of the underlying allegation should an administrative hearing be held for that complaint.