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Election secretary offers tips as voting time nears

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Election secretary offers tips as voting time nears

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Voters will go to the polls April 6 to select candidates for a number of local offices.

Kingfisher County voters will have a say in a number of board of education seats, including Kingfisher, Dover, Cashion, Crescent, Piedmont, Cimarron, Covington-Douglas and the Canadian Valley Technology Center.

There will also be elections for city commissioner in Kingfisher as well as town seats in Okarche and Piedmont.

Kingfisher County Election Board Secretary Shawna Butts asks voters to keep the following information and tips in mind as the election approaches:

• Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the day of the election. Lines are possible at peak voting times. Wait times will likely be shortest at mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Anyone in line to vote at 7 p.m. will be allowed to cast a ballot.

• Anyone who needs to look up their polling place, verify their registration information, or view a sample ballot can do so online. The Online Voter Tool can be accessed on the Oklahoma State Election Board’s website: www.elections.ok.gov. Those who vote by mail can also check the status of their ballot using the Online Voter Tool. Sample ballots are also available at the County Election Board office.

• Oklahoma law requires every voter who votes in person at the precinct polling place or during early voting at the County Election Board to show proof of identity before receiving a ballot. There are three ways for voters to prove their identity under the law (only one proof of identity is required): Show a valid photo ID issued by federal, state, or tribal government; or show the free voter identification card issued to every voter by the County Election Board; or sign an affidavit and vote a provisional ballot. (If the information on the affidavit matches official voter registration records, the ballot will be counted after Election Day.)

• Physically disabled voters who cannot enter the polling place need help marking their ballots, blind or visually disabled voters and illiterate voters may be assisted by a person the voter chooses. In all cases, a person providing such assistance may not be the voter’s employer or an agent of the employer or an officer or agent of the voter’s union. A person providing assistance also must swear or affirm that the voter’s ballots will be marked in accordance with the voter’s wishes. Alternatively, all blind, visually impaired, and physically disabled voters in Kingfisher County may use the audio-tactile interface (ATI), a feature offered on all Oklahoma voting devices, to vote privately and independently, either at Kingfisher County Election Board during early voting or at their assigned polling place on election day.

• Voters who have moved since the last election, but who have not transferred their voter registration to their new address, may do so on Election Day by going to vote at the polling place where their registration has been in the past. While voting, they may fill out a form instructing the County Election Board to transfer their registration to the new address before the next election.

• Those who become physically incapacitated after 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, still can request an emergency absentee ballot. Those who might qualify for an emergency absentee ballot should contact the County Election Board office at (405)-375-3895 as soon as possible for more information.

• Any violation of election law will be reported to the proper law enforcement authorities. Electioneering is not allowed within 300 feet of a ballot box. It is also unlawful to remove a ballot from the polling location, possess intoxicating liquors within half a mile of a polling place or to disclose how you voted while within the election enclosure.

• The Center for Disease Control recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

“Please help slow the spread of COVID-19 by social distancing from other voters and poll workers and by wearing a mask in the voting enclosure,” Butts said.

For additional election-related information, visit: www.elections.ok.gov.