Tips Offered for Tuesday's Election

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for the annual school election and Sallisaw regular municipal general election, Cindy Osborn, Sequoyah County Election Board Secretary, said. Osborn offered tips to voters on how to make their votes count. She said that a valid marking--a filled-in box in either blue or black ballpoint ink--is important. If voters make mistakes marking their ballots, they should not try to correct those errors. Instead, a voter should return the spoiled ballot to precinct officials, who will destroy it and issue a new ballot to the voter. Osborn urged voters to take their voter identification cards with them to the polls. She said, "Your voter ID card, issued by the county election board, can help officials find your name in the Precinct Registry, and it may help them resolve the problem if you are not listed in the registry for some reason." Alternatively, voters can bring an unexpired photo ID card issued by the U.S. government, State of Oklahoma, or a federally-recognized tribal government. Voters without ID, or whose names are not found in the Precinct Registry, or voters who disagree with the information shown in the registry, may always cast a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot is sealed in a special envelope and counted after election day if the voter's information can be verified by the county election board. Osborn said that voters who want to get through the line quickly should vote at mid-morning or mid-afternoon, because those usually are the two slowest periods. Osborn said, "Anyone who is eligible and in line at the polling place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday will be entitled to vote."

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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