Despite two days of severe weather, there are currently no changes to county polling locations across Oklahoma.
Tornadoes ravaged much of the central part of the state over the weekend, destroying homes, upturning cars and leaving other damage in its wake.
The Oklahoma State Elections Board reports, that as of Monday afternoon, all voting sites are ready for visitors during election day tomorrow.
Misha Mohr, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Election Board, said if any polling places have to relocate, updates will be posted on the state board website.
“There's still ongoing weather, so we're still monitoring the situation, but at this time, no polling places have been changed,” Mohr said.
In Pottawatomie County, one of the counties where storms were concentrated on Monday, election board secretary Patricia Carter said monitoring will continue into the early morning.
“In the morning at 5 a.m., we will confirm that our polling places are in good condition with electricity on and send our people out to them,” Carter said.
Oklahoma County Election Board Assistant Secretary Tuesday Sanders said there is no reported damage anywhere in the county warranting changes to polling sites.“We've already checked on them all,” Sanders said. “They've all got power, they're all good.”
Mohr said elections have been conducted during all types of inclement weather – thunderstorms, ice storms and snow – and state and county election boards prepare for possible emergencies.
“We work closely with our local, state and federal officials to make sure that we have plenty of law enforcement to help us out if needed,” Mohr said.
She said coordination extends beyond just working with law enforcement.
“We've been working with the utility companies to make sure that they are prepared to help us out in the event that we have some type of a power outage,” Mohr said.
Power loss
If a polling location loses power, voting devices are equipped with an “emergency bin” to keep the voting process secure and moving.
“In the event that there is a power loss, voting will not stop,” Mohr said. “Voters can still vote their paper ballots and insert those paper ballots into the emergency bin. Once electricity is restored, precinct officials can insert those ballots into the voting device to be counted.”
If power is not able to be restored, Mohr said, the emergency bin will be taken to the county election board and will be counted on election night. Mohr said the bin is locked securely inside the voting devices.
Voter turnout
State and county officials could not speak to whether stormy weather will affect voter turnout on election day but noted a record number of Oklahomans have already cast their ballots.
Almost 300,000 people showed up to vote early across the state last week, sometimes waiting in line for hours.
The state has recorded 2.4 million votes – more than ever before.
Mohr said it is important that remaining voters are kind and patient at the polls.
“It's all hands on deck when it comes to election day,” Mohr said. “Our precinct officials are doing the very best they can to get voters in and out of the polls as quickly as possible. We ask that voters do their part.”