A Primary PSA

Consider this a friendly, two-part public service announcement:

First, Monday is the deadline to request an absentee ballot for June 16’s primary elections, including the statewide vote on SQ 832, the proposal that would increase the minimum wage for the first time in 17 years.

Check out our cover package in June’s Observer to learn who’s for and against the proposal and why. And what the gradual increase to $15 an hour and above would mean for workaday Oklahomans.

Second, we received a call recently from a friend who was surprised to learn a first-class stamp wasn’t sufficient to successfully mail her absentee ballot to the state Election Board.

Misha Mohr, the board’s terrific communications director/PIO, confirmed and offered some helpful advice:

Postage rates are set by USPS and, like other types of mail, rates can vary depending on the weight.

As you know, the number of ballots a voter receives is dependent upon the number of elections in which the voter is eligible to participate. For example, some voters may have only a state question ballot, while others have a primary ballot and a state question ballot. Others may have a primary ballot, state question ballot, and a local proposition ballot. The length of a ballot can also vary from election to election, depending on the number of offices, questions, and/or propositions on the ballot.

As a general rule of thumb, I always tell voters to use the envelope that their voting materials arrived in as a guideline. The cost to return your absentee ballot will never be more than what it cost to mail the absentee ballot packet to you.

Finally, Mohr reminds:

… [V]oters can also hand deliver their absentee ballots to their county election board. Absentee ballots must be delivered no later than the end of business the Monday before the election. Only the voter can return his/her absentee ballot and must show ID when returning their ballot.

To view a sample ballot for your precinct, visithttps://oklahoma.gov/elections/ovp.html.