Tulsa County polling place changes

Itâ€™s a big election year, and some Tulsa County voters will be looking at changes in where they vote. <br><br>About 91,000 people in Tulsa County were sent note cards in the mail this week, telling

Wednesday, June 19th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Itâ€™s a big election year, and some Tulsa County voters will be looking at changes in where they vote.

About 91,000 people in Tulsa County were sent note cards in the mail this week, telling them they're in a new precinct. Precincts are re-drawn every decade following the federal census.

And while some folks may like the change, thereâ€™s no doubt it will be an inconvenience for others. Tulsa County Election Board workers have fielded phone calls regarding the changes all day. Officials say the last time the lines were re-drawn ten years ago there wasnâ€™t such a shake up.

This year they've added 18 new precincts and changed 164 precincts through merging or splitting. Election board officials say some voters may have to go up to five miles farther to vote. Tulsa County voter, Robert Bynum: "Not really upset. Itâ€™s just inconvenient. And it appears from looking at the map that a number of us are gonna be doing it."

Tulsa County Election Board secretary Scott Orbison, "We have no control over the boundary lines and we have to fit the precincts in there. And we have a lot more people then we have more precincts and we have to split precincts when we have too many voters."