The upcoming election in Oklahoma and Blaine County has some national implications.
In addition to the local races – for county clerk and sheriff – properly registered voters will also select a new member of the corporation commission and the United States Congressman for District 3.
The candidates for corporation commission are (alphabetically) J. Brian Bingman, Justin Hornback and Russell Ray.
Running for the congressional seat are Robin Lynn Carder, Darren Hamilton and incumbent Frank Lucas.
Locally voters will select a county clerk from incumbent Jennifer Haigler, Heather Sawyer-Spangler and Tracy Walker.
In the race for the sheriff’s office are former sheriff Tony Almaguer and incumbent Travis Daugherty.
All the candidates are Republicans. If a voter is registered in another party, they cannot vote in this election. The window to change parties closed April 1 and under statute will remain closed until September 1. This is the case in every even numbered year.
Additionally, there may not be a run-off. If a single candidate garners 50.1% of the vote in any race, they are awarded the seat. If no candidate collects 50.1%, there may be run-off in August.
The deadline to register to vote in the June election is May 24. In order to register, residents must be U.S. citizens, residents of Blaine County and at least 17 ½ years old. However, voters must be 18 years old at the time of the election to vote even if properly registered.
Applicants will be notified by mail when their application has been processed, and they will get a voter identification card in the mail if the application has been approved. There will be a letter explaining the reason if an application has not been approved.
Registered voters who have moved to Blaine County from a different county or state will need to complete a new voter registration application in order to be eligible for elections in Blaine County. To update an address, you may make changes online using the OK Voter Portal at oklahoma. gov/ elections/ ovp or complete a voter registration application.
Voter registration applications can be downloaded from the state election board website at oklahoma. gov/ elections. Forms are also available at county election board offices, most post offices, tag agencies, and public libraries have applications available upon request.
The Blaine County Election Board is located at 212 N Weigle Ave. and is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday.
For more information, go to ok.gov/elections or contact the local secretary of elections at (580)623-5518 or blainecounty@elections.ok.gov.