An election emergency declaration issued by the State Election Board Secretary on March 18 will impact elections scheduled for April 7 in Cotton County, the County Election Board Secretary confirmed today. The election emergency allowed all entities, including those with statutory school board member elections, to reschedule their April 7 elections to another date allowed by law. The declaration was issued in response to the current COVID-19 health crisis, which has resulted in federal, state, and local restrictions.
County Election Board Secretary Shellie Hart said the following election has been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date:
WALTERS SD I-01 SPECIAL ELECTION
Absentee ballots issued for the April 7 election are no longer valid and should be destroyed.
Voters who were issued an absentee ballot for the April 7 election will be issued a new ballot for the rescheduled election, if they are currently signed up to receive absentee ballots for all elections in which they are eligible to vote for the 2020 election year.
Voters who applied for an absentee ballot for the April 7 election only, will need to submit a new absentee ballot request for the rescheduled election in order to vote in that election. Absentee ballots can be requested online using the OK Voter Portal at https://www.ok.gov/elections/OVP. html. Applications can also be downloaded at https://www.ok.gov/elections/Voter_Info/Absentee_Voting/index.html.
While the Cotton County Courthouse remains closed to the public, the Cotton County Election Board will continue to conduct business as usual by phone, email, and mail. Business hours remain normal even during these unusual circumstances and calls and emails will be returned in a timely manner. Voters who need to conduct business in person can call or email the County Election Board to make special arrangements. Voters can also visit the Oklahoma State Election Board website at elections.ok.gov for more information.
The Cotton County Election Board is located at 301 N. Broadway St., in Walters. For more information, contact the County Election Board at (580) 875-3403 or cottoncounty@elections.ok.gov.