Last Updated on December 9, 2022, 3:23 PM | Published: December 9, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY — Chris Cowden, candidate for the Ward 2 OKC City Council seat, responded to an official contest of his candidacy Thursday night saying that he has lived in OKC “since 2017.” But, those statements, made to Free Press in a recorded phone call, may create new problems for him.
In the process of his defense, he admitted to living in OKC while being registered to vote in a precinct in Nichols Hills, which seems to be confirmed by voting records over the years. If so, it would be a violation of state law or voter fraud.
By state statute, voters must live at the address where they are registered to vote and vote in the precinct where they are registered.
Several public officials have told us over the years that it is a common mistake people make to think there is nothing wrong with keeping their old registration address and still vote there as they move all over the city, not realizing that they are breaking state law every time they vote at their old precinct.
That seems to have been the case with Cowden who was focused on challenging the City of Oklahoma City’s requirement to have been registered in the ward where one is running for a year ahead of time.
“Quite honestly, we had anticipated it,” Cowden told us. “But, I’ll keep this very simple — and you can do your research — state law supersedes city.”
Records
Voting records show that Cowden has been voting over the years in a Nichols Hills precinct registered under the address of his parents who live there.
But, in an interview late Thursday, while trying to defend against incumbent Councilman James Cooper’s contesting of his candidacy, Cowden told Free Press that he has lived in his home in Oklahoma City “since 2017” in what is now Ward 2 after redistricting.
Thursday night, Cowden told Free Press that he had kept his registration at his parents’ house as a “convenience” since he was the one who would take them to their polling place.
He finally changed his voting registration address to where he actually lives on July 15.
A check of Oklahoma County Assessor records shows that Chris Cowden closed on the purchase of the house on N. Utah Avenue in Oklahoma City on October 28, 2016.
He told us that since he was 18, “I’ve always lived in Ward 2 and had an interest in Oklahoma City.”
Cowden’s voting records show that he has been regularly voting up through the time in July 2022 when he finally changed his voting registration to the address in Oklahoma City.
In fact, as late as the June 28 primary in which he voted, he was still registered to vote in the Nichols Hills precinct, apparently while living in Oklahoma City.
The evidence offered in Cooper’s petition embedded below shows Cowden’s voting record and the point at which he changed his voting registration address (pp. 21-24).
Contest-of-Candidacy-filed-and-Notice-of-Hearing-Cooper-v-CowdenCandidacy contested
City of Oklahoma City ordinances require that in order to run for a City Council seat, the candidate, “must have been a registered voter at an address within the ward for at least one year immediately preceding the filing of a declaration of candidacy.”
Ward 2 incumbent James Cooper filed a Petition for Contest of Candidacy Thursday based on Cowden not being registered to vote in Oklahoma City for a full year before filing for the seat.
The hearing at the Oklahoma County Election Board offices will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
