Early voting turnout high in Oklahoma | News

OKLAHOMA CITY — Early voting turnout has been brisker than typical as 1000’s of Oklahomans forged ballots forward of Tuesday’s election.

“Early voting turnout is much higher than we’ve seen in our last few gubernatorial elections,” stated Paul Ziriax, Oklahoma State’s Election Board secretary.

More than 132,000 Oklahoma residents voted in individual early, which is “really exciting,” he stated. In addition, county election boards reported greater than 69,000 mail-in ballots had been returned as of early Monday afternoon.

Those mail-in poll numbers are anticipated to extend as a result of ballots could also be returned by mail via 7 p.m. Tuesday. Monday additionally marked the deadline to hand-deliver mail-in ballots for many who nonetheless hadn’t mailed them.

In 2018, 107,000 Oklahomans voted in individual, and 68,000 submitted mail-in ballots. In 2014, 44,000 voted in individual and 26,000 by mail.

Oklahomans who requested a mail-in poll, however didn’t use it, nonetheless can vote in individual Tuesday at their native polling location.

As of Monday afternoon, almost 9.1% of registered voters had forged ballots early. This election cycle additionally marked the primary time Oklahoma lawmakers had provided in-person early voting on a Wednesday.

“I hope voters get up and vote,” Ziriax stated. “I want every registered voter to go to their polls tomorrow. Just make sure you plan ahead. If there is heavy turnout in your precinct that could cause maybe a little bit of a wait.”

Tuesday’s poll is headlined by the hotly contested gubernatorial race that options Republican incumbent Kevin Stitt and Democratic challenger Joy Hofmeister, Libertarian Natalie Bruno and impartial Ervin Yen. The superintendent of public instruction race between Republican Ryan Walters and Democrat Jena Nelson additionally has garnered a variety of consideration, as has the federal race for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. That race has Democrat Kendra Horn vying in opposition to Republican Markwayne Mullin, Libertarian Robert Muphy and impartial Ray Woods to exchange retiring Sen. Jim Inhofe.

Ziriax stated Tuesday’s poll is a “very long ballot” that options a number of statewide races and legislative contests. The poll additionally comprises judicial contests, retention questions and native and county elections.

Ziriax urged all voters to double examine their polling place location on the state’s voting portal earlier than heading to vote Tuesday. Legislative redistricting could have modified polling areas for some Oklahomans.

In far southeast Oklahoma, final week’s extreme climate sophisticated voting efforts. The storms leveled one polling location in Idabel, forcing election officers to maneuver the precinct to a unique church in city.

In Pickens, state emergency administration officers stated Monday they have been putting in a generator to energy a precinct that remained with out electrical energy.

“The great news about Oklahoma is we use paper ballots, and you can still run an election whether the power’s out or not,” Ziriax stated.

Ziriax stated Oklahoma’s voting system, which depends on paper ballots, is protected and safe and has built-in protections that assist detect and stop tampering. Everybody makes use of the identical voting gadgets, and the ballot employees come from each events. Also, Oklahoma’s voting gadgets don’t use wi-fi expertise.

Ziriax warned Oklahomans to remember that some folks could attempt to unfold “misinformation about elections” in an effort to disenfranchise sure voters.

“But even with the traditional type of misinformation, we continue to see misinformation and conspiracy theories related to elections that just are not accurate,” he stated. “We want to encourage Oklahoma voters to be skeptical of claims you may hear, especially on social media. Just be cautious about what you’re reading. There could be people who are attempting to manipulate you, or to try to affect you in an emotional way to doubt the outcome of an election.”

He urged folks with inquiries to contact their native election officers, and if anybody spots any potential points, report these instantly to election precinct employees.

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.