Tulsa County Election Board officials certified a recount of the Aug. 27 mayoral election, stating the results remained the same with only “minor changes” to the exact vote count.
Businessman Brent VanNorman filed for the recount after receiving the third most votes, less than 500 fewer than County Commissioner Karen Keith.
Keith and Oklahoma Rep. Monroe Nichols will face off in a runoff election on Nov. 5.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to, once again, demonstrate to the people of Tulsa County that Oklahoma’s election system is accurate,” said Tulsa County Election Board Secretary Gwen Freeman shortly after certifying the vote.
Freeman said the only differences in the recount for the mayoral election was the number of “overvotes,” which are ballots where more than one candidate in the same race has been marked down by the voter.
Freeman said the number of overvotes was fewer than 50. Official results will be posted on the Oklahoma State Election Board website.
VanNorman said in a statement “the recount has played out fairly” and his campaign accepts the results.
Nichols said in a statement that his campaign “took this recount seriously and trusted the process.”
In a statement, Keith said the recount “has reaffirmed our faith in the integrity of our elections” and has now shifted focus to the runoff in November.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
