Voter Registration
Registration Deadline: The voter registration deadline is 25 days prior to the date of an election. A registration deadline calendar can be found here.
Party Affiliation: Oklahoma has three recognized parties: Democratic Party, Libertarian Party, and Republican Party. You can register as a member of any recognized party in Oklahoma or select “No Party” (Independent).
Oklahoma has a closed primary system with exceptions. Generally speaking, you must be a registered voter of a party in order to vote in that party’s primary and/or runoff primary elections. However, all recognized parties in Oklahoma may open up their primaries and runoff primaries to Independent voters. See the guide below:
Registered Republican Voters: may ONLY vote in Republican primaries and runoff primaries
Registered Democratic Voters: may ONLY vote in Democratic primaries and runoff primaries
Registered Libertarian Voters: may ONLY vote in Libertarian primaries and runoff primaries
Registered Independent Voters: may not vote in any party’s primaries or runoff primaries unless it is authorized by the party; may ONLY vote in one party’s primary or runoff primary per election
NOTE: The Democratic Party has authorized Independent voters to vote in its primary and runoff elections in 2024.
Voters can change their party affiliation online using the OK Voter Portal or by completing a new Voter Registration Application and mailing it to their County Election Board. Voters can fill out an application using the OK Voter Portal registration “wizard,” but must print, sign, and mail or hand-deliver the application to their County Election Board to complete the process. Voter Registration Applications can also be downloaded from the State Election Board website and are available at County Election Boards, most tag agencies, post offices, and libraries.
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Voter Registration Qualifications
Age: Must be at least 18 years old. Persons who are at least 17½ years old may pre-register to vote in Oklahoma if they meet all eligibility requirements.
Citizenship: Must be a United States citizen
Residency: Must be a resident of Oklahoma
Mental Competency: Persons judged incapacitated by a court may not register to vote
Felony Convictions: A person convicted of a felony may register to vote when he or she has fully served his or her sentence of court-mandated calendar days, including any term of incarceration, parole or supervision, or completed a period of probation ordered by any court. A convicted felon who has been pardoned may register.
Obtaining a Voter Registration Form
By mail: Click here for the portal. Print it, sign it, and mail it to your county election board. You will get a confirmation number that can be used by your county election board to check the status of your registration.
In person: Voter registration applications are available at your County Election Board, post offices, tag agencies, libraries and many other public locations. You will be offered a voter registration application when you get your driver's license and when you apply for assistance at some government agencies. You may also download an application form.
You must sign and date the oath printed on the form. When you sign the voter registration application form, you swear that you are eligible to register to vote.
SUBMITTING A VOTER REGISTRATION FORM
You may mail your voter registration application to the State Election Board. The card is already addressed, but you must add a first-class postage stamp. If you fill out your voter registration application form at a tag agency when you get your driver's license or when you apply for assistance at a government agency, the agency will mail the form to the State Election Board for you.
For more information on voter registration, click here.
Verifying Your Voter Registration Status
Online: Oklahoma online voter tool
Absentee Ballot Qualifications
Who can vote absentee: Any registered voter in Oklahoma may vote by absentee ballot. It is not necessary to give a reason for voting absentee.
Obtaining an Absentee Ballot
In most cases, absentee ballot requests must be received no later than 5pm on the third Monday (15 days) preceding the election. Except as allowed by law, only the voter may submit his or her own absentee ballot request.
Online: Online Absentee Ballot Application
In person: Available from the county board of elections and from the State Election Board.
By mail: Download and mail your absentee ballot application to your local County Board of Elections or write a letter to your county election board to apply for absentee ballots. The letter must contain the following information.
-your name
-your birth date
-the address at which you are registered to vote
-the election or elections for which you are requesting ballots
-the address to which the ballots should be mailed
-your signature
In person: You may deliver your own application personally to the county election board office.
By fax: You may fax your absentee ballot application to your local County Board of Elections.
By email: You may scan your signed application and email it to your County Election Board.
Military and overseas voting: For more information on military and overseas voters, click here.
Submitting an Absentee Ballot
Different types of absentee ballots may have different submission requirements. Click here for instructions regarding physically incapacitated voters (and caregivers), nursing home or veterans’ center voters, military or overseas voters, emergency incapacitated voters, and first responders/emergency workers. The instructions for standard absentee voters are as follows:
Standard Absentee Ballot affidavits must be notarized, regardless of whether they are hand-delivered or mailed to the County Election Board. Standard absentee voters must return their own absentee ballot to county election officials. It is against the law to return another voter's standard absentee ballot.
Hand delivery (standard absentee ballot): Hand-delivered ballots must be returned no later than the end of business hours on the day before the election, and the voter must show the same proof of identity required for in-person voting.
By mail (standard absentee ballot): Absentee ballots returned by mail or private delivery service must be received by the County Election Board by 7 p.m. (CST) on Election Day to be counted. First class postage is required for U.S. mail. Consider the distance your absentee ballot must travel and allow sufficient time for your absentee ballot to be received by the County Election Board. The U.S. Postal Service recommends mailing absentee ballots at least one week prior to the due date.
Tracking your absentee ballot: You can track your absentee ballot using the OK Voter Portal. Once your ballot has been received, the portal will indicate the date of receipt. Once voter history has been entered into the system after the election, the portal will indicate whether or not your ballot was counted.
VOTING ON ELECTION DAY
On regular and special election days, polling places are open from 7am until 7pm.
State law requires all registered voters to prove their identity before voting in person at the precinct polling place on election day or during early voting at the County Election Board. You may show any document issued by the United States, the State of Oklahoma, or a federally recognized tribal government if it includes your name, a photograph of you, and an expiration date that is later than the election in which you are voting. For more information, click here.
PROVISIONAL VOTING
If you do not have or if you refuse to show proof of identity, you may vote by provisional ballot and prove your identity by submitting a sworn affidavit with the provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are sealed inside special envelopes and are not put through the voting device. After election day, County Election Board officials will investigate the information provided by the voter on the affidavit and either will approve the provisional ballot for counting or will reject it based on the outcome of that investigation. In order for a provisional ballot to be approved for counting, the information on the affidavit must match the information in the voter's registration record.
See full list for approval criteria here.
Additional Information
Deciding how to vote: https://votesmart.org
Polling Place: Polling place locator
Verifying Absentee Ballot Status: Click here
Problems with voting: Oklahoma's HAVA information
This measure adds a new section, section 9E, to article 10 of the Oklahoma Constitution. Section 9E will permit the creation of public infrastructure districts to provide support, organization, operation, and maintenance of services. To create such a district, proponents for creating the district must file a petition with the municipality. The petition must include the signatures of one hundred percent of all surface property owners falling within the districts proposed boundaries. The municipality possesses the right to impose limitations on the districts powers prior to approving the district. Once approved, the district will be governed by a board of trustees.
Through the board, the district may issue bonds to pay for all or part of all public improvements implemented by and for the public infrastructure district. The district will be limited to issuing bonds issued for such improvements not exceeding ten (10) mills. For repayment of the bonds, the district, acting through its board of trustees, will levy and assess a special assessment on all property benefiting from the improvements in the district. Section 9E also authorizes the Legislature to enact laws necessary for the implementation of public infrastructure districts.
This measure amends Section 1 of Article 3 of the Oklahoma Constitution. It clarifies that only citizens of the United States are qualified to vote in this state.
