Board adds staff for early voting

Local News

July 24, 2008

By Susan Brittingham The McAlester News-Capital Thu Jul 24, 2008, 09:36 AM CDT

The Pittsburg County Election Board is making sure there are enough people on hand to handle any voters who may want to cast early in-person absentee ballots prior to the Primary Election on Tuesday.

Usually, one bi-partisan voting board — consisting of one Democrat and one Republican — is on duty at the Pittsburg County Election Board office to handle the early voting.

For the early voting prior to the Tuesday primary, there will be two voting boards.

“The state election board sent a letter and said we could have two if we thought we needed it,” said Pittsburg County Election Board Secretary Cathy Thornton.

Thornton, wanting to make sure any potential voters are not kept waiting unnecessarily, took the state election board up on its offer.

“It seems like we may have quite a bit of interest” in this primary election, Thornton said.

Those wanting to cast an early in-person absentee ballot vote can do so beginning on Friday at the Pittsburg County Election Board office, in its new temporary location at 10 E. Washington Ave., adjacent to the west side of McAlester City Hall.

In-person absentee ballot voting will be available from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday and from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Monday.

Voters are not required to give a reason or an excuse for voting by absentee ballot.

“Sometimes in-person voting works out to be very convenient for people who may have to be out of town unexpectedly,” Thornton said.

Others may want to cast the early ballots so they won’t have to stop by their regular polling places between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

The bi-partisan voting boards will be on duty at the election board office on Friday, Saturday and Monday to issue voter ballots.

Ballots are issued after voters complete an application form and their voter registration information is verified, Thornton said.

Voters are required to swear they have not voted by a regular mail-in absentee ballot and they will not vote at their regular polling places on July 29, according to Thornton.

Qualified voters will be given a ballot they can mark in a voting booth and which they can then place in a voting machine. It’s a lot like voting at a precinct polling place, Thornton said.

Pittsburg County races on the Democratic ballot include the election for Pittsburg County sheriff and the race for an unexpired term for the District 3 Pittsburg County Commission seat.

A proposed quarter cent sales tax to benefit fire departments in Pittsburg County will be on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.

Other races on both the Republican and Democratic ballots are primaries for the seat currently by District 2 U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, and for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa. The winners from each party will face each other in November.

A Republican primary to select a candidate for an unexpired term on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities, is also on the primary ballot.

“I just hope everybody gets out and votes for the candidate of their choice,” Thornton said.

Anyone needing more information can contact the Pittsburg County Election Board office at 423-3877.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.

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