Early voting starts Thursday

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  • Early elections start October 29th
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma voters will return to the polls Thursday for early voting in the November presidential election.

Though election day, is officially Tuesday, Nov. 3 in Oklahoma early voting begins Thursday, Oct. 29 and continues through Saturday, Oct. 31. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, polls are open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Next Tuesday, polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Oklahomans voting by mail must have their ballot postmarked by Nov. 3. Mail-in ballots can also be returned on Nov. 2 to the county election board.

Last week, State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax issued an alert, warning voters about fraudulent text messages claiming voters’ pollin places had changed. One message falsely advised a voter that her polling place had changed, then asked the voter to reply to the text to confirm her name. It then provided a phone number to call to be removed from the notification list. The phone number provided in the text message is reportedly for a male escort service. 

“Disinformation about the voting process is a real threat,” Ziriax said in a media statement. “Voters should be very cautious about phone calls, emails, social media posts and text messages containing false information about elections – and report suspicious communications to election officials immediately.”

Oklahoma’s ballot includes choices for U.S. President, Vice President, Senate, Congress, Corporation Commission and several state legislative races. The general election ballot also includes retention choices for three members of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, two judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals and three judges from the Court of Civil Appeals.

In addition to the elected offices, voters will say yes or no to two state questions: SQ 805, which makes major changes to the state’s criminal justice system, and SQ 814, which changes the way money is spent from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund.

In Comanche County, voters will make choices in the state’s fourth Congressional District and choose a County Sheriff. Three legislative races are on the Comanche County ballot, including House District 62, House District 64 and House District 65.

Stephens County voters will choose a 4th Congressional District candidate, a County Commissioner, a state  Senator of SD 43 and make a choice in the HD 65 race.

Many experts believe the 2020 election, which features the contest between incumbent Republican President Donald Trump and former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, has become one of the most controversial in recent history.

Though polling shows a tight race nationwide, in Oklahoma Trump leads Biden in the polls by several points.

Still, Trump and Biden aren't the only candidates for president on the Oklahoma ballot. Other candidates include Independent Kayne West and his vice-presidential pick, Michelle Tidball and Libertarian presidential candidates Jo Jorgenson and vice presidential candidate Jeremy “Spike” Cohen. 

Two other Independent candidates include Brock Pierce for president and Karla Ballard, vice president and Jade Simmons for president and Claudeliah Roze, vice president.

Perhaps the most contentious state race is that for Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District. That race features incumbent Democrat Kendra Horn in a tight battle with challenger state Senator Stephanie Bice, a Republican.

Thousands of Oklahomans have already voted via mail-in ballots. Data from the U.S. Elections Project showed that as of Oct. 27 more than 69 million Americans have voted in the presidential election and some states, such as Texas and Florida, have seen record turnout.

Statewide, voters requested 277,000 ballots. So far, about 74,000 of those ballots have been returned. A majority of state voters are expected to cast their ballots in person. To do so, voters will need to bring valid proof of identity to vote.

That ID must be issued by either the U.S. Government, the State of Oklahoma or a federally recognized tribal government and contain the name of the person to whom it was issued, a photograph of the person to whom the ID was issued and an expiration date that is after the date of the election, unless the identification is valid indefinitely.

In addition, election board officials said voters may use the free voter identification card they received by mail from their County Election Board when they registered to vote. Oklahoma law allows use of the voter identification card even though it does not include a photograph.