State Election Board Warns of False Polling Place Message

by Elizabeth Pitts-Hibbard

Oklahoma State Election Board secretary Paul Ziriax issued an alert on Monday, informing voters about a text message that was reported by a voter last week. The text message falsely claimed that a change had been made to the voter’s polling place.

According to information issued by the State Election Board, the text message also told the voter to reply to the text to confirm her name. It also provided a phone number to call to opt-out of text notifications. The phone number provided was reported to be a male escort service.

Ziriax said that polling place changes in Oklahoma are rare and that if a change occurs, voters will be notified by mail from their County Election Board.

“Election officials will never contact you by text message to tell you your polling place has changed,” Ziriax said. “Disinformation about the voting process is a real threat. Voters should be very cautious about phone calls, emails, social media posts, and text messages containing false information about elections, and report suspicious communications to election officials immediately.”

Voters may use the OK Voter Portal or contact their county election board to verify their polling place.

In related news, the deadline for absentee ballot applications is less than a week away. Applications must be received by the County Election Board no later than 5pm on Tuesday, October 27 in order to be processed in time for the election.

Those wishing to vote absentee may apply in person at the County Election Board office at the Stephens County Courthouse (101 South 11th Street, Suite 100, Duncan), or may send their applications by fax, mail, or email. An online application may be submitted via the OK Voter Portal at www.ok.gov/elections/OVP.

“Anyone who misses [the absentee] deadline can still vote early,” said Stephens County Election Board Secretary Angela Dunagan.

Early voting will be available in the ground-floor lobby of the Stephens County Courthouse from 8am to 6pm on Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30, and from 9am to 2pm on Saturday, October 31.