January 11, 2020
By News Director Jared Atha
A temporary absentee ballot verification option which was put in place by state legislators last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic has expired.
The temporary verification option was part of Senate Bill 210, which was passed last spring. The bill gave Oklahoma voters the option to include a copy of their valid ID in lieu of a notarized or witnessed signature on their absentee ballot affidavit. Certain provisions of the bill were valid for the 2020 election year only and expired in December.
Election officials say voters who request absentee ballots in 2021 will receive updated absentee ballot instructions with their balloting material and should read them thoroughly before placing their ballot in the mail.
Officials say standard absentee ballot affidavits are required to be notarized, and physically incapacitated absentee ballot affidavits must have the voter’s signature witnessed by two people.
In other words, voters will submit their absentee ballots the same way they did prior to Senate Bill 210.
Voting officials recommend voters allow themselves plenty of time to receive, vote, and return their ballots.
Voters can request absentee ballots online using the OK Voter Portal on the State Election Board website or by picking up an application from their local county election board office and a list of notaries can be found on the State Election Board website as well.
