OKLAHOMA CITY — The crush of early voters at the Oklahoma County Election Board, Edmond, and across the state showed little signs of letting up on Thursday, day 2.
When Free Press visited the Election Board site on N. Lincoln in OKC Thursday afternoon between 3:00 and 4:00 PM the line stretched out halfway to Lincoln in the parking lot just like Wednesday, the first day.
The first person we talked to right at 3:00 was walking to his car and said that he had been in line for “one hour and twenty-two minutes” by the time he voted.
Moving toward the front of the line just before the last turn toward the door in, we talked with several people who said they had been waiting about 50 minutes to one hour.
Tori seemed in good spirits saying that she always votes early instead of waiting until the last day.
The self-identified African-American had a somber reason for making sure nothing happened to get between her and voting.
“Too many people fought too hard for the right to vote” for her to be casual about it, Tori said.
Two friends, Tasha James and Cameron Doan, said that their work schedule would not allow them to get to their local precinct on Tuesday, which was a common statement with those waiting to vote early.
So far, neither the federal government or states have made Election Day a holiday which would pave the way for more people to be able to vote on that day.
That reality makes policies and schedules for early voting in all 50 states significant for voter participation.
We talked with three people who were having a friendly chat after having just met at the end of the line about 45 minutes before.
Michelle said that she was voting early because of her work schedule on Tuesday.
“I just always do this because I think it’s the quickest and easiest way to vote,” said Barbara.
Tom is a poll worker in a different precinct than his own so it was somewhat of a necessity for him to vote early, he said.
We asked if he had any negative experiences being a poll worker in the metro and he quickly said he had “only good experiences doing it.”
By the numbers
At 4:28 on Thursday, October 31, the second day of early voting, the Oklahoma State Election Board reported that:
In Oklahoma County
- 29,472 mail absentee ballots had been received.
- 14,052 in-person absentee (early-voting) ballots had been received.
Across the State of Oklahoma
- 91,011 mail absentee ballots had been received.
- 144,370 in-person absentee (early-voting) ballots had been received.
More opportunities to vote
Early voting continues across Oklahoma from 8 AM to 6 PM on Friday and 8 AM to 2 PM on Saturday.
Tuesday is Election Day and local precincts will be open for voting from 7 AM to 7 PM. If you are in line when the poll closes on Election Day, stay in line and you will still be allowed to vote.
You can view a sample of your specific ballot at OK Voter Portal. Enter your name and birthdate, and the system will provide your specific voter information. You can also see your voter status.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.