Okarche citizens voted last year to add two seats to the town board.

Soon, they’ll know their choices to fill those seats.

Kingfisher voters will have three seats to fill on the city commission, including mayor.

Candidates interested in filing for offices in either community will file Declarations of Candidacy beginning next Monday.

Those who wish to file for a municipal office must submit a Declaration of Candidacy to the Kingfisher County Election Board starting 8 a.m. Monday, Feb. 5.

The filing period ends at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7.

Okarche held a special election last September in which voters overwhelmingly approved adding two seats to its town board, bumping it from three to five.

The two new seats - Offi ce 4 and Office 5 - will be on the next ballot.

After that election, the current town board moved to make all seats at-large rather than limiting each seat to a specific ward.

The Office 4 seat will be for a one-year term and the Office 5 seat a three-year term.

That will put the seats in line to have elections every two years with seats 1, 3 and 5 up for grabs in one cycle, then 2 and 4 in the other.

Those wishing to run for the Okarche seats will actually file in Canadian County.

In Kingfisher, the seats up for grab will be that of mayor, a four-year term, and city commission seats 1 and 2.

Seat 1 is for a four-year term and is currently held by Kyle Mecklenburg.

Seat 2 is a one-year unexpired term that is currently held by Kaci Farrar.

Geoff Covalt is the city’s mayor.

Candidate filing packets are available on the State Election Board website at https:// oklahoma. gov/ elections/candidates/candidate- filing.html and at the County Election Board.

In addition to the Declaration of Candidacy, candidates must also submit a Voter Registration Verification Form, which can be obtained from the County Election Board or by logging into the OK Voter Portal at https://oklahoma.gov/elections/ ovp. html.

Information on the Voter Registration Verification Form must match the information provided on the Declaration of Candidacy.

Shawna Butts, secretary of the Kingfisher County Election Board, reminds candidates that Contests of Candidacy must be filed no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, and may only be filed by another candidate for that office, unless a candidate files unopposed.

Contests against unopposed candidates may be filed by contacting the County Election Board.

Declaration of Candidacy forms can be downloaded from the State Election Board website at oklahoma. gov/elections or by contacting your County Election Board office at 405-3753895 or kingfishercounty@elections.ok.gov.

The Kingfisher County Election Board is located at 101 S. Main St., Room 8, and is open 8 a.m. -4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.