A new state law which took effect on November 1, 2013, changes the dates and times voters have come to expect for early voting in Oklahoma. Now, early voting begins on Thursday and continues on Friday and Saturday, Logan County Election Board Secretary Erin Dorio explained today. Of special note, early voting is no longer conducted on Monday.
These changes have occurred due to the approval of SB 869, which was signed into law in May, 2013. As a result, Thursday, March 25 is the first day for in-person absentee, aka “early” voting, in the March 1 Presidential Preferential Primary Election and Special County Election, Dorio said.
Related story: View the upcoming ballots in the March 1 presidential primary
The new law also adjusts the hours for Saturday in-person absentee voting. Saturday voting now takes place from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Dorio explained that during federal and state elections such as this one, voter turnout is often heavier and providing early voting on Saturday gives voters an additional opportunity to vote before election day.
More information about absentee voting gin Oklahoma, as well as other election-related information, is available at www.elections.ok.gov.
Deadline to request absentee ballots approaches
Registered voters in Logan County who want to vote by mail absentee ballot in next Tuesday’s Presidential Preferential Primary Election and County Special Election have until Wednesday at 5 p.m. to request one, Dorio said.
“If absentee voters miss Wednesday’s deadline, they aren’t out of luck, however,” Dorio said.
Voters who want to cast absentee ballots still can do so in person at the County Election Board office on Thursday, February 25, or Friday, February 26 or Saturday, February 27. A two-member, bipartisan Absentee Voting Board will be on duty each day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday to assist absentee voters and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., February 27.
“In-person absentee voters fill out an application form when they get to the office. They are not required to give any reason for voting absentee,” Dorio said. “They are required to swear that they have not voted a regular mail absentee ballot and that they will not vote at their polling place on election day.”
According to Dorio, the Absentee Voting Board verifies a voter’s registration information. Then, the Board issues all the appropriate ballots to the voter. The voter marks the ballots in a voting booth and then casts them in the voting device. “It is very much like voting at a precinct polling place,” said Dorio.
Deadline to request absentee ballots nears
Registered voters in Logan County can apply for absentee ballots to be mailed to them for the March 1st Presidential Preferential Primary Election and County Question Special Election.
Applications for absentee ballots must be in the hands of the County Election Board no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 24, to be processed.
Any registered voter eligible to vote in the election may vote by absentee ballot without stating a reason, Dorio said. Absentee voters may apply in person at the County Election Board office or may send their applications by mail, fax, or e-mail. Voters also may apply for absentee ballots for the following reasons:
- Registered voters who are physically incapacitated and voters who care for physically incapacitated persons who cannot be left unattended may apply for absentee ballots only by mail, fax, e-mail, or via an agent who is at least 16 years of age and who is not employed by or related within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity to any person whose name appears on the ballot.
- Registered voters who are confined to nursing homes in the county may apply by mail, by fax, by e-mail, or via an agent who is at least 16 years of age and who is not employed by or related within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity to any person whose name appears on the ballot.
- Military personnel, residents of Logan County living overseas, and the spouses and dependents of each group may apply only by mail, by fax, or by e-mail. For more information and instructions, military and overseas voters may visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program website: www.fvap.gov/oklahoma.
For more information on absentee voting, contact the County Election Board at 224 E Vilas. The telephone number is 405-282-1900. The County Election Board’s fax number is 405-282-1994.
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