TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The National Weather Service on Tuesday said four likely tornadoes and possibly more hit in northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas with no deaths or injuries reported.

According to meteorologist Joe Sellars, weather service investigators were in Muskogee, Sequoyah, and Adair counties in eastern Oklahoma and Benton County in northwestern Arkansas to confirm that tornadoes struck the areas on Monday night.

Sellars said there have been no deaths or serious injuries reported.

The storms struck a day after tornadoes injured at least 11 people in the Oklahoma City area in central Oklahoma.

Keli Cain, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said assessments of the damage were underway, but no significant damage has been reported.

Cain said the department is working with the Oklahoma State Election Board and that the storms have not disrupted any polling places for Tuesday’s election.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

It’s officially Election Day in Oklahoma. This election includes the presidential election, where voters will select their choices for the next U.S. president.

Across the state, voters will weigh in on two statewide referendum questions that ask about public infrastructure districts and citizenship to vote.

Other races on the ballot depend on where you live. Some voters will have referendums for school funding, plus elections for local offices like mayor or state representative.

It’s expected that all Oklahoma-only races will be decided tonight, but the presidential election may not be called until late Tuesday night, if not in the morning. 

Here’s what to know about voting in Oklahoma today and what races and questions you should expect to see on your ballot:

What time do polls open? 

Polling places open at 7 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Lines are typically their longest just before and after work hours and during lunch hours, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board. 

If you arrive at your polling place and are in line by 7 p.m., you can still vote in the election as long as you do not leave the line. This includes if you are lined up outside the polling place and have yet to go in. 

Where do I vote? 

Oklahomans have designated polling places to vote and there are dozens across the OKC metro.

To find your polling place, go to the OK Voter Portal at okvoterportal.okelections.gov.

There, enter your first and last name and date of birth to find your specific polling place, as well as to see sample ballots, upcoming elections and more. 

What do I need to bring to vote? 

All in-person voters will need to provide proof of identity in one of the following ways: 

• A valid photo ID issued by the federal, state or tribal government 
• A voter identification card 
• Sign an affidavit and vote a provisional ballot; if the information on the affidavit matches official voter registration records, the ballot will be counted after Election Day 

Who is on the ballot? 

Several races are on the ballot and throughout the state. To find names and information regarding each candidate, go to oklahoman.com/news/elections. 

What is on my ballot? Can I see a sample ballot?

If you want to see a sample of your ballot on Tuesday, the OK Voter Portal allows you to preview the ballot. To do so: 

• Enter your name and date of birth, then press “Find Me.” 
• Under the Voter Information section, press “Sample Ballots” to jump to that section 
• View your sample ballot for the upcoming election as a PDF or webpage. 

What are the local, state races? 

Oklahoma’s local races include the Corporation Commissioner race between Libertarian candidate Chad Williams, Republican candidate J. Brian Bingman and Democratic candidate Harold D. Spradling. 

For the judicial races, click here to see each candidate running concurrently and not in opposition to each other. 

What do the state questions mean? 

There are two Oklahoma state questions to vote on in this election cycle, tackling different topics. 

Oklahoma State Question No. 833 

State Question 833 is a legislative referendum, meaning it was put on the ballot by the legislature rather than an initiative petition by citizens. It would add Section 9E to Article 10 to the Oklahoma Constitution, which would “permit the creation of public infrastructure districts to provide support, organization, operation, and maintenance of services.” 

Oklahoma State Question No. 834 

Also, a legislative referendum, SQ 834 would change Article 3, Section 1 of the Oklahoma Constitution to say “only” citizens of the United States are qualified to vote in the state. This section of the constitution currently says “all” citizens of the United States are qualified to vote. 

As Oklahoma State is headed for its worst season since Mike Gundy took over in 2005, the coach had a message for his critics. Expectations were high entering the year as the Cowboys returned most of their starters from a team that finished runner up in the Big 12 in 2023.

However, with just three games remaining on the schedule, OSU has still yet to win a conference game. The Cowboys have not failed to make a bowl game in the past 18 seasons, but would need to win out to become bowl eligible this year.

Gundy and the team have rightfully faced criticism as there seems to be little explanation as to where things went so wrong. In his press conference on Monday, the coach came back with a strong response.

“This place has had tremendous success for 18-and-a-half years,” he said. “Unfortunately in life, most people are weak and as soon as things start to not go as good as they thought, they fall apart and they panic. Then they want to point the finger and blame other people. You see it happen in every day life. That’s why I refuse to watch the TV and watch the news because I get tired of people complaining and bitching about this and that versus just doing something about it and trying to figure out a way to make it better. That’s what happens in college athletics.

“In most cases when people are negative and voice their opinion, they’re the same ones that can’t pay their own bills. They’re not taking care of themselves. They’re not taking care of their own family. They’re not taking care of their own job that they have an obligation to speak out and complain about others because it makes them feel better. Then in the end when they go to bed at night, they’re the same failure they were before they said anything negative about anybody else.”

Some things have been out of Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State’s control. The Cowboys have lost several key players due to injury on defense and certainly no one is going to blame the coach for that.

However, the quarterback play has also been less than stellar and teams have figured out to how to defend running back Ollie Gordon after his breakout season a year ago. That’s something that falls on Gundy and the coaching staff to fix and so far they haven’t found a solution.

Gundy continued to say he is urging his team to continue to fight until the end of the season regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in. He also urged fans to continue to supports the Cowboys and assured them that while things might look bleak at the moment, he has a plan to make sure the future of the program is in good hands.

“I think what’s important for all the Oklahoma State fans to know is this: We’re very aware of what’s going on and at some point in life, we all have to put trust in somebody,” he said. “I think they need to trust that we have a good plan for what’s going on here in the big picture and we have answers. Sometimes they’re not short term. Sometimes they might be long-term answers. Then secondly, in the end, the very best thing that people can do is 100% buy in. You’ve gotta be on somebody’s team. You can’t go through life by yourself.

“I’m gonna go into a meeting at 1:30 and have a similar conversation with the team, but it will only last about two minutes because they’ve heard this from me 1,000 times during their career and they understand. So what I’ll tell them is that we as a staff and me as a head coach have been working over the last two days to give you guys a plan. Now we’re asking you to buy in and execute this plan and then on Saturday go play and turn it lose and have some fun and compete. What we and I are looking for is guys that are willing to do that. That’s called being a team. That’s called being part of an organization. It’s really that simple for us.”

It’s a lengthy explanation for the team’s struggles this year but only results and the field will truly cause the critics to cease. OSU will look for its first Big 12 win when it hits the road to face TCU on Saturday.