Voters Face Long Lines In Some Areas To Vote Early
Across Oklahoma, tens of thousands of voters are casting their ballots for the presidential election.
Almost 90,000 people have voted by mail.
And on the first day of early voting, more than 80,000 people stood in lines - occasionally for hours - to vote.
Samuel Garza voted early in Canadian County.
“Because I wanted to get my vote in. Basically before, I mean it’s not packed here on the day of voting, but I’m just anxious to get my vote in,” Garza said.
The State Election Board reported heavy turnout across the state Thursday. By 2:15 p.m., the two day vote total showed more than 127,000 people cast ballots.
Early voting ends at 6 p.m. Thursday, and continues Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Election Day is Tuesday.
For more information on how to vote, visit KGOU.org.
CDC Reports Increase In Oklahoma’s Vaccine Exemption Rate For Kindergarteners
Nearly 3,000 Oklahoma kindergartners had one or more exemptions for childhood vaccines during the past school year.
The CDC reported that Oklahoma’s vaccine exemption rates among kindergartners have risen to about 6%.
The CDC says exemptions over 5% can increase the risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Required vaccines in Oklahoma schools combat diseases like chickenpox, measles and mumps. Parents or guardians can fill out a form to declare a medical, religious or philosophical reason for exempting their child.
Nationwide, coverage for state-required vaccinations for kindergartners declined to less than 93% for all vaccines.
The CDC says efforts by health departments, schools and providers are necessary to ensure higher vaccination rates.
New Porn Access Law Takes Effect Friday
A new state law that takes effect Friday aims to keep children from accessing pornography on the internet.
But it also means one of the most popular adult websites in the world will no longer be readily accessible in Oklahoma.
Senate Bill 1959 requires sites that carry adult content to verify a user’s age. The law also requires sites to let internet users in Oklahoma request that material be blocked.
Sen. Jerry Alvord was one of the sponsors of the bill.
“This allows parents to put age verification blockings on their devices so that they can protect their children from picking up this kind of thing, either intentionally or unintentionally,” Alvord said.
Alvord said sites would use a third-party age verifier, which would keep X-rated vendors from stealing data.
House sponsor Toni Hasenbeck compared the bill to a law in Texas that requires explicit sites to verify the ages of all users.
In response to such laws, adult website giant Pornhub has blocked content altogether.
In a prepared statement, Pornhub’s parent site claimed such laws just make people move to “darker corners of the internet” that don’t follow the rules.
Cherokee Nation Partners With Amazon To Provide Tuition-Free Film Courses
The Cherokee Nation is partnering with online retail giant Amazon to provide opportunities for blossoming filmmakers.
The multi-million dollar investment will waive the tuition for the Cherokee Film Institute's 25 inaugural students to reduce economic barriers across the reservation.
The partnership aims to teach Native and non-Native individuals skills in uplifting Indigenous voices through filmmaking, camera work and story-telling. At the end of the courses, students will be workforce ready.
Recently, Amazon partnered with the Cherokee Film Institute while filming Sarah’s Oil, an Amazon Original based in Oklahoma and set to release next December.
According to Amazon and the Cherokee Nation, this initial partnership sparked the rest.
“We can’t wait to see where these participants go in their film careers and to see what is next for Cherokee Film and film in Oklahoma,” said Brian Huseman, vice president of Public Policy and Community Engagement at Amazon, in a press release. “Cherokee Film Studios was a key partner on Amazon’s upcoming film ‘Sarah’s Oil,’ our first Oklahoma-based production, and we are excited to continue that partnership through the Cherokee Film Institute.”
Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. hopes the collaboration will boost Indigenous voices in the media and bolster Cherokee citizens to follow their career goals.
“I’m excited at the idea that young Cherokees in particular, and particularly those that have just sort of dreamed of being in this industry but maybe never thought there was a path for them… To be able to get this training with no cost,” Hoskin said. “And to get on their way to a career that they may have dreamed of.”
The first inaugural class is expected to begin courses in Jan. 2025.
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