Virus Fears Impact April 7 Election

An election emergency declaration issued March 18 by the state Election Board secretary will impact elections scheduled for April 7 in Sequoyah County, Cindy Osborn, the county Election Board secretary, said Monday.

The election emergency allowed all entities, including those with statutory school board member elections, to reschedule their April 7 elections to another date allowed by law. The declaration was issued in response to the current COVID-19 health crisis, which has resulted in federal, state and local restrictions.

Osborn said the following Board of Education elections have been postponed and rescheduled for June 30.

Belfonte, C-50 Office 3

Vian, I-2 Office 5

Braggs, I-46 Office 5

Absentee ballots issued for the April 7 election are no longer valid and should be destroyed.

Voters who were issued an absentee ballot for the April 7 vote will be issued a new ballot for the June 30 election if they are currently signed up to receive absentee ballots for all elections in which they are eligible to vote for the 2020 election year.

Voters who applied for an absentee ballot for April 7 only will need to submit a new absentee ballot request for the June 30 election in order to vote in the rescheduled elections. Absentee ballots can be requested online using the OK Voter Portal at https://www.ok.gov/elections/OVP.html. Applications can also be downloaded at https://www.ok.gov/elections/voter_info/absentee_voting/index.html. 

While Annex Building 2 remains closed to the public, the Sequoyah County Election Board will continue to conduct business as usual by phone, email and mail. Business hours may be modified because of the unusual circumstances, but calls and emails will be returned in a timely manner. Voters who need to conduct business in person can call or email the county Election Board at (918) 775-2614 or sequoyahcounty@elections.ok.gov to make special arrangements. Voters can also visit the Oklahoma State Election Board website at elections.ok.gov for more information.

The Sequoyah County Election Board is at 110 E. Creek St. in Sallisaw.

Laura Brown, KXMX Staff Writer

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