Last week, Oklahoma State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax declared an election emergency for local elections scheduled for April 7. It could affect four elections in which Blaine County voters could participate: Watonga School Board; Geary School Board; Caddo Kiowa Technology Center and Cimarron School Board near Ames.
The election emergency declaration requires county election boards to accept resolutions adopted by the governing bodies of school districts, municipalities, technology districts and counties to move their April 7 elections to another date. Regular and statutory elections could be rescheduled on June 30, the next available election date and the date of the state primary election. Special elections could be rescheduled for any election date allowed by law. The boards in question have until March 30 to decide whether to postpone and for how long. None of the four boards had reached a decision as of press time.
“We are in uncharted waters here, so I am hopeful we have found a sensible solution that is consistent with the spirit of the law and avoids bureaucratic overreach by state election officials,” Ziriax said. “As Oklahoma’s chief election official, I strongly urge school districts, municipalities, technology districts and counties with April 7 elections to take immediate action to reschedule and help efforts to flatten the COVID-19 curve.”
Blaine County Election Board Secretary Brenda Rice has reached out to the local boards over which her office is the host site – Watonga and Geary - to inform them of the election emergency and the option of rescheduling their April 7 elections. Major and Caddo counties will notify Blaine County of the decisions reached by Cimarron Schools and CKTC, respectively.
Voters who have questions about whether an election has been rescheduled and when they will be held are encouraged to contact the local board in question or the county election board.
Connie Burcham can be reached at Editor@WatongaRepublican.com