Early voting is available Thursday, March 27 and Friday March 28 from 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. for eligible voters in Blaine County. This year because there is no handicap accessibility at the courthouse, early voting will be held at the Watonga Christian Church, 400 N. Noble. This is for municipal elections, there are no contested elections for the boards of education.
Anyone who has a ballot option in the election has the option to vote early, no reason is necessary.
Blaine County Election Board Secretary Brenda Rice said early voting is open to all voters. “You do not need to provide an excuse to vote early. Oklahoma allows early voting for all elections conducted by the county election board or state election board—from school board and municipal elections to state and federal elections. This is a great option for those who will be out of town on election day or who want to long lines,” Rice said.
Early voting is not available at regular polling locations.
Voters who need assistance to vote because they are blind or visually disabled, physically disabled or infirmed, or illiterate may request to have an assistant or vote privately and independently using the ATI device attached to the voting device. Those who require assistance should talk to their precinct official or contact the county election board directly for instructions. For questions, please contact the election board at (580)6235518) or blainecounty@elections.o k.gov .
Election day voting will take place at regular voting precincts from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday, April 1.
Please remember to mark your ballot using the example posted at your polling place and inside your ballot booth. In case of a mistake, do not try to correct it. Instead, take your ballot to the precinct officials. They will destroy the ballot and issue a new one.
You do not need to make a selection for each election/issue on the ballot in order for your ballot to be counted. The voting device will cast votes only for those elections/issues which you have marked.
Ballots can be read by the voting device regardless of how they are inserted into the system.
If the system detects too many markings for a single office or question, an error report will be printed and the ballot will be returned to the voter for a new ballot to be issued.
If you need assistance or would like to use the audio-assisted ballot system, let a precinct official know. You do not have to show proof of a disability to use the audio-assisted ballot system.
Be sure to bring an approved form of identification. Photo identification cards issued by the federal government, State of Oklahoma, or a federally recognized tribe are accepted. You may also use the free voter identification card mailed to you by your county election board when you registered to vote. Forms of identification with an expiration date must have an expiration date that falls after the election.
If you forget your voter ID or your name is not found in the precinct registry, you may still cast a provisional ballot by signing an affidavit. A provisional ballot is sealed in a special envelope and counted after election day, if the voter’s registration information can be verified by the county election board.
Election results cannot be certified until all provisional ballots have been researched, verified, and (if valid) counted.
Voting activity is generally slowest mid-morning and mid-afternoon, but lines and wait times can vary from precinct to precinct. All voters who want to cast a ballot should be in line no later than 7 p.m.
“Anyone who is in line by 7 p.m. on Tuesday and eligible to vote, will be allowed to vote,” Rice said.
You can locate your polling place and view a sample ballot using the State Election Board’s OK Voter Portal at oklahoma. gov/ elections/ ovp.