By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahomans braved the scorching heat Thursday and began casting their votes to narrow down which candidates will make it to the general election ballot in November.
Voters throughout Oklahoma, including Darla Gragert in Oklahoma City, turned out for the first of three days of early voting in the statewide election despite temperatures that by midday had already topped over 100 degrees.
Gragert, a retired teacher, said the Republican governor and superintendent runoffs drew her to the polls. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is facing off against financial adviser Mike Mazzei for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Retired educator Robert Franklin is challenging teacher James Taylor.
“I never like messy,” Gragert said. “I like positive, I don’t like negative, I don’t like mudslinging. We have to look past all the ads and look at their record of what they’ve actually done.”
She said because she was a teacher for 27 years, education issues are important to her because she knows the impact it has on society as a whole.
Multiple major partisan offices are on the Aug. 25 runoff election ballot. Republican voters will decide on party nominees for governor, state superintendent, and labor and insurance commissioners. Democrats can vote in a runoff between two candidates for the U.S. Senate.
Lawmakers also placed two nonpartisan state questions on the ballot. One would give lawmakers the power to recalculate the amount paid under a manufacturing tax incentive program while the other would enshrine voter identification in the state Constitution. All voters are eligible to vote on state questions regardless of party affiliation.
While there were no lines at Oklahoma County’s polls, a steady flow of people came in and out of Oklahoma County’s early voting location. Nobody lined up outside, but voters through Election Day on Aug. 25 expected to face temperatures of over 100 degrees.
The Oklahoma County early voting site is air conditioned. But relief from the heat could vary by county because local county election boards determine early voting polling locations, although a spokesperson with the State Election Board said most county boards choose their offices.
The National Weather Service in Norman issued a warning Thursday afternoon that “dangerous heat” would continue to bring high temperatures with heat indexes expected to be between 105 and 110 degrees across much of Oklahoma. They advised people stay hydrated and indoors when possible.
David Robertson said while he usually likes to vote on Election Day, he would be out of town Tuesday, so he decided to vote early at the Oklahoma County Election Board on Thursday.
He said the Oklahoma County Commissioner race drew him, and he voted for Democrat Jason Lowe because he’s been impressed by what Lowe has done for the community.
“I think a person should vote whenever there’s an issue to vote on because one way or another, it’s gonna affect you,” Robertson said.
The state questions on the ballot were difficult to understand, he said. But Robertson said he “did his research” before voting.
Both state questions were added to the August ballot by state lawmakers this past session.
State Question 844 asks voters to amend the state constitution to allow lawmakers to to recalculate how much it should pay for a five-year property tax exemption offered to manufacturers with new operations in Oklahoma. Supporters say the program’s cost has grown beyond the fund dedicated to support it as qualifying criteria have changed, but critics argue changes to the program could shortchange local schools and governments millions in property tax revenue.
While identification is already required to vote in Oklahoma elections, State Question 846asks voters to amend the state constitution to include voter ID requirements and give lawmakers the ability to enact laws to specify what forms of identification are acceptable.
Genny Lytle, a retired teacher, said education issues and the superintendent’s race were top of mind when she voted Thursday. She said she was going to be unavailable to vote next week. She said she voted ‘no’ on State Question 844 because she was concerned it would affect education funding.
“I encourage people to vote early because it was easy and fast with no lines,” Lytle said.
Oklahoma’s primary elections are closed, meaning voters can only vote in primaries for their registered party. All voters, including independents and Libertarians, can vote on the state questions.
Polls are for early voting from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Oklahomans can cast their ballots on Tuesday at their local precinct from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Early voting locations can be found at the Oklahoma Voter Portal. Voters must cast ballots in the county in which they are registered.
The State Election Board did not yet have an estimate of how many ballots had been cast during early voting as of Thursday afternoon.
