LAWTON — The upcoming municipal election just got a little less complicated for voters in Ward 6.
When they go to the polls Sept. 12, Ward 6 residents will decide who will represent them on the Lawton City Council for the next three years. The winner’s new term will begin in January 2024.
City officials originally thought that Ward 6 voters would receive two separate ballots in September: one ballot for candidates hoping to complete former Councilman Sean Fortenbaugh’s unexpired term, and one for candidates seeking to represent the ward for a three-year term starting in January 2024.
That was because the city charter says when a vacancy occurs on the council, the remaining council members shall appoint someone to fill that slot. That person will serve until the next possible municipal election, when voters will choose someone to complete the former council member’s unexpired term.
With that in mind, the council approved two resolutions concerning the Sept. 12 election earlier this month. One resolution called for a primary election to fill the unexpired term for Ward 6, and a companion resolution called for a primary election for someone to represent Wards 6, 7 and 8 for a three-year term.
“We have a new term starting next year, so we would have had our normal elections for Wards 6, 7 and 8,” Acting City Attorney Tim Wilson said during the council’s July 11 meeting. “And those dates were also set for the primary to be September 12, with a possible runoff if necessary for November 14.”
Wilson said he recently spoke with Comanche County Election Board Secretary Amy Sims, who told him that the city could not conduct two elections for one council seat at the same time.
Wilson said he also spoke with Rusty Clark, assistant secretary for the Oklahoma State Election Board, who confirmed what Sims had told Wilson.
“He advised me that the state’s voting software will not allow one to hold more than one election for the same office at the same time,” Wilson said. “So essentially, what I’m hearing is we cannot have an election to fill a Ward 6 unexpired term and have an election to fill a Ward 6 expired term at the same time.”
‘No other possible
election dates’
Dr. Robert “Bob” Weger was appointed to replace Fortenbaugh, who stepped down from the council earlier this year. When the appointment was made, city officials had to check the calendar to determine the next possible date for an election to fill Fortenbaugh’s unexpired term.
That date was Sept. 12, when the city had already planned a primary election for Wards 6, 7 and 8. The city also scheduled a runoff election for Nov. 14 if necessary.
“There are no other possible election dates that have both a primary election and a general election to fill the Ward 6 unexpired term before the unexpired term expires,” Wilson said.
That means the city will have just one election for the Ward 6 seat in September, which will be to choose someone to represent the ward for the next three years.
Weger has confirmed that he is planning to run for the seat in September.
The candidate filing period for Wards 6, 7 and 8 will run from July 31 through Aug. 2.