Various 2022 elections set in Pottawatomie County
Various elections are scheduled in Pottawatomie County for 2022.
According to Patricia Carter, Secretary of the Pottawatomie County Election Board, election season will begin on Feb. 8 with the Board of Education Primary elections.
The next election will be April 5, which is the Board of Education General Election.
Carter said the there will be another special election, which is the June Primaries on June 28; the runoff Primary Election will be Aug. 23.
In addition, Carter said the General Election will be held on Nov. 8.
The dates of these elections are pending and subject to change as the Election Board receives resolutions for entities calling for a special election.
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As these elections approach, the Election Board would like to remind the public that they will have a table in the lobby of their building at 330 N. Broadway in Shawnee on National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, which is Tuesday, Jan. 25.
During the recruitment event, potential candidates can learn about becoming precinct officials and assisting with elections.
Through the recruitment campaign, the Pottawatomie County Election Board is searching for additional precinct officials to help with upcoming elections.
Currently, there are 104 precinct officials who work at the county's voting precincts on election days.
"For the June Primary, August Primary Runoff and General Election in November, we're going to need approximately 140 precinct workers," she said.
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Carter explained precinct officials are an important part of the democratic process because they set up, oversee and close polls during elections throughout the county, state and country.
"Without the precinct officials we could not carry out elections," she said, adding they show up early on election day, set up the precincts, check in voters, provide voter assistance, clean up the precincts and take ballots to the Election Board after polls close.
There are three precinct officials for each precinct, which include the judge, the clerk and the inspector.
"Throughout the day the judge and the clerk check people in and hand out ballots," Carter said. "The inspector oversees the whole election enclosure."
Carter said at each precinct there must be one representative from each of the two largest political parties in Oklahoma.
"This means we have to have a Democrat and a Republican in each precinct official board," she said.
These precinct positions are paid, Carter said, as the inspector receives $110 for the day and the judge and the clerk receive $100 for the day.
In order to become a precinct official, candidates have to undergo training for four to five hours and that training will be in May this year. The workers receive the same training that the employees at the Election Board receive from the State Election Board.
At the moment, she said the youngest precinct official in the county is 27 and the eldest is 92.
In addition to National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, Carter said the Election Board has started a campaign to recruit young people called "Youth at the Booth."
Carter said this program was introduced to the high schools, vocational technical schools and colleges in the county. Its purpose is to encourage students 18 years and older who are registered to vote to become precinct officials.
The Pottawatomie County Election Board is located at 330 N. Broadway Avenue in Shawnee. For more information, call (405) 273-8376.
This article originally appeared on The Shawnee News-Star: Various 2022 elections set in Pottawatomie County
