Tulsa County Election Board Sees Record Number Of Absentee Ballot Requests

The Tulsa County Election Board is seeing a record number of people requesting absentee ballots ahead of the primary election on June 30.

"The days are getting longer, and the staff is very, very busy,” Tulsa County Election Board Secretary Gwen Freeman said.

Freeman said back in the 2016 primary, the board mailed out 6400 absentee ballots. So far in this year's primary election, the board has mailed out more than 25,000 to Tulsa County voters.

"Fill it out and send it in as quickly as possible. What we want to avoid is everybody waiting until the last minute,” Freeman said.

Karen Chapman dropped off her ballot Tuesday.

“Just to save time, and to social distance,” she said.

An absentee ballot must either be notarized, or the voter needs to mail in a copy of his or her ID. Chapman showed her ID in person and said the whole process was easy.

“It's a pretty simple process. You do have to follow the instructions. There are lots of envelopes,” Chapman said.

If you're voting in person, you'll see poll workers with hand sanitizer, a mask or face shield, along with a special set of tweezers to handle your ID without touching it.

Freeman said the number of voters allowed inside precincts will be limited.

"So those lines are going to be longer than what you would normally be used to and they're going to take longer to get through,” she said.

The election board said if you're voting in person, be sure to double check where your precinct is before heading out the door, because it may have changed.

Early voting begins Thursday and continues Friday and Saturday.

In order for an absentee ballot to count it must be at your county's election board by 7:00 p.m. next Tuesday. Freeman said if a voter wants to deliver his or her absentee ballot in person, it must be turned in by the Monday before Election Day.