Oklahoma's elections are secure, state election official says
Oklahoma's top election official on Monday expressed confidence in the state's election system and said no credible security threats have been identified ahead of the general election.
Oklahoma Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax encouraged voters to have a healthy dose of skepticism if they see allegations of voter fraud on social media.
But he also urged Oklahomans to call their county election board if they see something unusual or concerning on Election Day.
"Oklahoma has one of the most accurate and secure voting systems in the entire world," he said at a news conference. "While there are no specific threats that have been identified related to tomorrow's general election, we are ready to handle whatever may come."
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Tuesday's midterm elections will mark the first general election in Oklahoma since the 2020 presidential election that former President Donald Trump and his allies falsely claimed was defined by widespread voter fraud.
The debate over voter fraud has not been as prevalent in Oklahoma as it has been in key battleground states following the 2020 election. But Ziriax sought to head off any claims of election fraud before they start.
Without repeating any conspiracy theories or election misinformation, Ziriax urged voters not to believe everything they see on the internet.
"Just be cautious about what you're reading," he said.
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Oklahoma's voting machines don't have the ability to connect to the internet or cell towers, he said in an attempt to quell concerns that the machines could be hacked. The GOP-led Oklahoma Legislature has enacted numerous laws to preserve election integrity, Ziriax said.
He also touted the state's voter ID laws and said the state Election Board conducted its first post-election audits this year. Audits of the results of the general and runoff primary elections will take place Nov. 29 and 30, Ziriax said.
"The entire voting system is designed with built-in protections that help detect and prevent tampering with those elections," he said.
Early voting figures could indicate high voter turnout
After the state added an extra day of absentee in-person voting this year, early voter turnout was higher this general election than the two previous gubernatorial elections, Ziriax said.
Roughly, 199,000 Oklahomans had voted as of Monday morning. About 67,000 of those votes were cast by mail, with more mail-in absentee ballots expected to return throughout the day.
About 174,979 people voted early or mailed in their ballot in 2018, compared to 69,847 people in 2014.
Roughly 56% of registered voters, or about 1.19 million people, voted in the 2018 general election.
"Whether we meet that or not, I don't know," Ziriax said. "It's gonna be a nice day tomorrow. I hope voters get out and vote. I want every registered voter to go to their polls tomorrow."
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Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters should verify their polling place through the OK Voter Portal before going to vote because some polling locations have changed due to redistricting, Ziriax said.
He also encouraged voters to view a sample ballot before heading to the polls because of the significant number of contests up for a vote.
"We all see the advertisements for governor, U.S. senator and other races, but there are a lot of the races on the ballot that you're not seeing on television," he said.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma election official: State elections are safe, secure
