TRANSCRIPT
Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider - taking you inside politics, policy and government in Oklahoma. I'm Dick Pryor with Quorum call publisher Shawn Ashley. Our guest is Oklahoma Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax. Thanks for being with us, Paul.
Paul Ziriax: It's a pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me.
Shawn Ashley: Paul, the general election is under two weeks away and mail-in absentee voting in Oklahoma has already started. How many people are registered in Oklahoma and how does that compare to recent years?
Paul Ziriax: Well, as of right now, you know, where we are, in the middle of October, heading towards the general election, there are more than 2.4 million registered voters in the state. That's up almost 200,000 since about 2020. Statistically, you know, that works out to about 52% are Republicans, 27% are Democrats, nearly 20% of our independents and a little less than 1% are libertarians. That's shown a shift since 2020 where Republicans and independents are both up, but Democrats were at 33%. And you've seen independents and Republicans gain registrations, I think, at the expense of Democratic voters.
Dick Pryor: Paul, have you seen places in the state where the changes have been the most noticeable in terms of registration shifts?
Paul Ziriax: Well, I think we're seeing voter registration up across the entire state. The trends that we've seen since 2020 are trends that have been in place for decades now where you've seen independents grow and Republicans grow. Just anecdotally, it seems like some of the metropolitan areas are becoming more purple and the rural areas are becoming more red, so to speak. But at the end of the day, voter registration does not necessarily equate to how voters may vote. So, so we'll just see what happens when the when the real poll happens on November 5th.
Shawn Ashley: For people who want to mail in their ballots. How do they do that?
Paul Ziriax: That's a great question. You know, first I want to mention that on Monday, October 21st at 5 p.m., it's the deadline to request the mail absentee ballot. That's a very important deadline to remember. You can do that at your county election board, or you can use the okvoter portal on the state election board website, which is oklahoma.gov/elections. When you receive your absentee mail packet, you just follow the instructions. Most absentee ballots in Oklahoma require the signature to be notarized, so just make sure you provide the affidavit to a notary, sign it before the notary and have the notary follow all the directions. For an absentee ballot to be counted it must be received by mail at 7 p.m. on Election Day. But you also, under Oklahoma law, have the option to return your own absentee ballot in person at your county election board office. You can do that up until the end of business hours on Monday prior to the election. And you'll have to show your voter I.D. when you show up to drop that off.
Dick Pryor: General Election Day is November 5th, but in-person voting actually begins before that. When does that start?
Paul Ziriax: It will. And something that we didn't have in 2020 that we have now is that the legislature has added an extra day of early voting or in-person absentee voting for general elections. So, it actually starts on a Wednesday now, Wednesday, October 30th, which is the Wednesday prior to Election Day. And we'll have early voting on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and then on Saturday, November 2nd, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Most counties have a single voting site. It's usually at the county election board office, but you can check the state election board website or contact your county election board to find out exactly what the early voting sites are in your county. You have to vote for early voting in the county where you're registered to vote.
Shawn Ashley: Whether it's in-person early voting or on election day, what do voters need to bring with them and what do they need to do in order to vote?
Paul Ziriax: Well, I always recommend that you come prepared. Go to the okvoter portal. Again, that's at the state election board website, oklahoma.gov/elections, and get your sample ballot. There will be a sample ballot for your precinct. So, you're not surprised about what's on the ballot in your precinct, so come prepared. It's also important to know where you vote. Again, those early voting sites you can find that out on on our website or with your county election board. You can also use the okvoter portal to find your polling place. Be sure to bring a copy of your ID. Oklahoma has a voter ID law, and so that means that you must show a photo ID that has your name that substantially conforms with the precinct registry, and that photo ID can be issued by a tribal government, the federal government, or a state government. If you don't have one of those, you can use the free voter ID card that the county election board sent you. Or you can cast a provisional ballot and sign an affidavit.
Shawn Ashley: When will voters be able to see the results of this year's elections and when are those vote totals considered final?
Paul Ziriax: Well, Oklahoma law, unlike a lot of other states, and this is not to be critical of other states, but our legislature has designed our laws to make sure that our vote totals are known very quickly. And we have a voting system that helps accommodate that. Part of the reason for that is all absentee ballots must arrive on election day. They're all counted on election day and are usually the first vote totals that are posted by a county election board. In general, and a big election like this, I would anticipate that, you know, some counties may begin to report some of their early voting totals or absentee voting totals maybe by, you know, 15 or 20 minutes after 7:00. Others might be a little later if they're still trying to catch up and get all of those tabulated. And then, of course, as the precinct inspectors deliver the results from each precinct to the county election board, those just flow in through the night. But those initial results on election night, although we'll be 100% reporting, don't include provisional ballots, which have to be included on on the Friday following the election. And then, of course, the county election boards must certify the final results on the Friday after the election, which makes it official for that county. And then my board, the state election board, meets Tuesday, one week after election day, to certify the state and federal races.
Dick Pryor: And again, where do people need to go to find more information about their voting?
Paul Ziriax: I always recommend the best and first place to go to is the state election board website, oklahoma.gov/elections.
Dick Pryor: That's Oklahoma Election Board secretary Paul Ziriax. For more information, go to quorumcall.online. You can find audio and transcripts at kgou.org. And look for Capitol Insider where you get podcasts. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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