Absentee Deadline Approaches; Early Voting Scheduled for Primary Election

(Oklahoma City) – Voters have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, to request a mail absentee ballot for the June 30 Primary Election, State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said today.

Voters can apply for absentee ballots online using the OK Voter Portal at https://www.ok.gov/elections/OVP.html. Applications can also be downloaded from the State Election Board Website at https://www.ok.gov/elections/Voter_Info/Absentee_Voting/index.html and mailed to the voter’s County Election Board. A directory of County Election Boards is available at https://www.ok.gov/elections/About_Us/County_Election_Boards/index.html.

Voted absentee ballots must be received by the county election boards no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day, June 30.

In-person absentee voting, or “early voting,” begins Thursday, June 25. “Early voting” will be available at all 77 county election boards across the state and at additional locations in some counties. A list of additional “early voting” sites is available on the State Election Board website at elections.ok.gov. Early voting will be available Thursday, June 25 and Friday, June 26 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, June 27 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Primary Election allows voters to select nominees for various federal, state, and county offices for November’s General Election. In primary races with more than two candidates where no one receives a majority of the votes, runoffs will be held August 25.

Also on the ballot is State Question 802 (SQ 802), which would expand Medicaid coverage for some Oklahomans. You will find ballot language for SQ 802 at https://www.ok.gov/elections/Election_Info/State_Question_info.html. Additionally, many elections postponed from April due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be on the ballot, as well.

Oklahoma has closed primaries; however, recognized parties may open up their primaries to Independent voters by notifying the Secretary of the State Election Board. For the 2020 and 2021 election years, the Democratic Party has elected to open its primaries to Independents. The Republican and Libertarian parties have chosen to keep their primaries closed.

Voters can view a sample ballot or track their absentee ballot using the OK Voter Portal at https://www.ok.gov/elections/OVP.html.