What You Need To Know Before Casting Your Ballot In Tuesday's Primary

Oklahomans will head to the polls tomorrow for the primary election.

Voters will be looking at state and U.S. House races, along with a handful of state Senate seats. There are also non-partisan races, including sheriff’s races in both Cleveland and Kingfisher Counties.

The Oklahoma State Election Board has some tips and advice for Oklahomans before they head to the ballot box on Tuesday. 

“We recommend everybody check the OK voter portal before heading out to vote,” said Misha Mohr, Public Information Officer for the state election board. “When you log into the OK voter portal, if you have a sample ballot available, that means you have an election in your precinct.”

While not every Oklahoman will race to vote tomorrow, those headed to vote must be prepared.

Proof of identity with a driver's license or state ID card is required at the polls and when you submit an absentee ballot.

“We do have multiple security measures in place,” said Mohr.

Oklahoma also has modified closed primaries. “Which means that in order to vote in a party's primary election you do have to be a registered voter in that particular party,” said Mohr.

For this election cycle that rule mainly applies to Republican candidates. Only registered Republicans can vote for a Republican candidate in 2024 and 2025. 

But, independent voters can cast a Democratic ballot if they choose to.

“When you go to your polling place, if you're an Independent, you can simply ask the poll worker for that Democratic party ballot,” said Mohr.

Registered Democrats can still cast a Democratic ballot, and modified closed primaries do not impact non-partisan races. 

A runoff election is set for August 27, depending on the results tomorrow.

“If there are candidates in a primary who did not receive the majority of the votes, the two top candidates who received the most votes would advance to that runoff primary,” said Mohr.

Anybody needing additional information on where to cast their vote, or what they need to bring to the ballot box can visit:

Primary and Runoff Primary Elections:  https://oklahoma.gov/elections/elections-results/primary-and-runoff-primary-elections.html 

General Elections: https://oklahoma.gov/elections/elections-results/general-elections.html 

Here is the link to the OK Voter Portal: https://oklahoma.gov/elections/ovp.html 

“Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you are in line by 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote,” said Mohr.

We’ll be following as the votes come in and will be providing results and updates tomorrow.