Tulsa County Commissioners Working On Deal To Move Election Board

Tulsa County Commissioners are working to finalize a deal that would move the election board from downtown Tulsa to a new location near I-44 and 11th Street. Leaders say the new building would offer more workspace and parking.

The building sits along Shelley Drive and is currently home to Video Game Technologies. Officials have touted the building as being centrally located between Tulsa, Owasso and Broken Arrow.

Election Board Secretary Gwen Freeman says parking would also be increased from 65 spots at the current location to nearly 350 with the move, which comes in handy on days like early voting.

Leaders say the more than $9 million price tag for the building would not fall on taxpayers; instead, federal funding would be used.

The search has been underway for a new election board as staff say they’ve outgrown the existing building, which used to be a grocery store. The former Macy's near 41st and Yale was considered but those plans ultimately fell through.

There are already built-in security features at the new building, which was another plus for decision-makers.

"Keeping all our documentation secure, our voting decides secure, our staff secure, obviously when we’re in an election, the ballots secure and this provided us with room to be able to do all that very, very well," said Freeman.

The paperwork still needs to be finalized and some modifications have to be made to the new spot before the election board can make the move.