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Here's what you need to know if you're voting in Oklahoma in 2012:
VOTER IDENTIFICATION
In November 2010, Oklahoma voters approved a ballot referendum requiring proof of identity to vote. The proof of identity law requires every voter who votes in person at the precinct polling place or during early voting at the county election board to show proof of identity before receiving a ballot.
What forms of ID are acceptable?
A document used for proof of identity for voting must have been issued by the U.S. government, the state of Oklahoma or a federally recognized tribal government. The law requires any document used for proof of identity for voting to contain the following information:
- The name of the person to whom it was issued;
- A photograph of the person to whom it was issued; and
- An expiration date that is after the date of the election.
The law also requires the voter's name on the proof identity document to "substantially conform" to the voter's name in the precinct registry. In other words, your name on your proof of identity must match your name in the precinct registry.
The following documents may be used for proof of identity for voting:
- An Oklahoma driver's license;
- A state identification card*;
- A passport; or
- A military identification.
*A state identification card issued to a person 65 years of age or older does not have an expiration date but is, by law, a valid proof of identity for voting.
In addition, voters may use the voter identification card they received by mail from the county election board when they registered to vote. The law allows use of the voter identification card even though it does not include a photograph or an expiration date.
If you do not have or if you refuse to show proof of identity, you may only vote by provisional ballot.
REGISTRATION
You must fill out a voter registration application form, 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 also may download an application form at: www.ok.gov/elections/Voter_Registration/Voter_ Registration_Application_Form/. You must sign and date the oath printed on the form. When you sign the voter registration application form, you swear you are eligible to register to vote.
You may mail your voter registration application to the State Election Board. The card already is 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.
You may submit your voter registration application form at any time. However, voter identification cards cannot be issued during the 24 days prior to an election. If your registration application is received by the county election board during the 24 days before an election, you will not receive your voter identification card until after the election.
If you will become 18 during the 60 days before an election, you may apply for voter registration between 25 and 60 days before the election.
ABSENTEE VOTING
Any registered voter in Oklahoma may vote by absentee ballot. It is not necessary to give a reason for voting absentee.
Applications for absentee ballots must be made in writing. Absentee ballot application forms are available from all county election boards and from the State Election Board. You also may download a form from the website at: www.ok.gov/elections/Absentee_ Voting/Absentee_Ballot_Applications/.
You are not required to use the form, however. You may write a letter to your county election board to apply for an absentee ballot. 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 a ballot/ballots;
- The address to which the ballot(s) should be mailed; and
- Your signature.
You may apply for absentee ballots for one election, several elections or for all elections in which you are eligible to vote during the calendar year in which the application is submitted.
You may mail your absentee ballot application to the county election board, fax it or you may deliver your own application personally to the county election board office. (You may not deliver an application for another person, however.)
The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot to be mailed to you is 5 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the election.
If your absentee ballot is mailed to you, you must return it to the county election board by mail. An absentee ballot must be received by the county election board before 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
EARLY VOTING
You can vote early at the county election board office in the county in which you are registered to vote from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Friday and Monday before all elections. For state and federal elections only, you also can vote early from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Saturday before the election.
To find your county election board office, visit: www.ok.gov/elections/documents/cebinfo.pdf or contact the Oklahoma State Election Board at 405-521-2391.