Connect with us

Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s November general election is today. What to know about state, local races.

Published

on

Oklahoma’s November general election is today. What to know about state, local races.


play

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.

Advertisement

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. 

Advertisement

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: 

Advertisement
  • 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. 

Advertisement



Source link

Oklahoma

Fire in Oklahoma City scrapyard produces massive smoke plume visible from downtown

Published

on

Fire in Oklahoma City scrapyard produces massive smoke plume visible from downtown


play

A fire at a scrapyard near the OKC Fairgrounds has produced a massive plume of smoke visible in downtown Oklahoma City, officials report.

Advertisement

Oklahoma City Fire Department Assistant PIO John Chenoweth told The Oklahoman that the fire started at the scrapyard building near Northwest 10th Street and May Avenue, northeast of the OKC Fairgrounds.

The fire has been marked as “basically contained” as the Oklahoma City Fire Department is currently shifting to defensive methods. There are some active rubbish fires surrounding the metal building.

Chenoweth states there are no injuries, and all inside the building have been evacuated.

The cause of the fire and the extent of damage are unknown.

Advertisement

➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location

Oklahoma fire map: See smoke, wildfires across state, red flag warnings

Track the latest wildfire and smoke information in Oklahoma with data that is updated frequently based on input from several incident and intelligence sources.

If you can’t see the map below, please click here.

How to prevent wildfires

While severely warm weather can worsen a wildfire spread, most are the result of human behavior. In fact, nearly 85% of wildfires in the U.S. are caused by humans, according to the National Park Service.

Advertisement

With its wide acres, rural areas and inconsistent weather patterns, Oklahoma is prone to grass fires. Forestry and safety experts offer several guidelines for residents on how to avoid starting a fire, which can often breakout from just one wrong spark.

  • Avoid using welding equipment.
  • Never drive on a flat tire. 
  • Extinguish cigarettes completely before properly disposing of them, and never throw them outside of a window while driving.
  • Avoid parking on dry grass or dragging chains behind your car.



Source link

Continue Reading

Oklahoma

Oklahoma ranked in top 10 states attracting new residents, study says

Published

on

Oklahoma ranked in top 10 states attracting new residents, study says


play

Oklahoma is in the top 10 states receiving new residents in the nation in recent years, a new survey suggests.

StorageCafe conducted a recent study utilizing U.S. Census data showing Oklahoma welcomed over 25,000 new residents in 2023, with millennials being the largest-represented generation among those entering the Sooner State.

Advertisement

Here’s what the study had to say about migration into Oklahoma.

Oklahoma among top 10 states to move to

According to StorageCafe, Oklahoma welcomed 25,000 new residents in 2023 in net migration.

New residents in Oklahoma were largely made up of millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, at 27%.

Though Oklahomans and Texans don’t seem to be eye to eye in the football arena, Texas is “by far the largest source” of new Oklahoma residents.

Among the major reasons for the increase in migrants is likely Oklahoma’s affordability, with 36% of millennials buying a home within their first year in Oklahoma.

Advertisement

In addition, Oklahomans found major success in recruiting former California and Colorado residents to move to the state, rounding out the top 3 states bringing new residents.

What are the states attracting the most residents?

These states are the states with the highest migration numbers:

  1. Texas (138,000)
  2. Florida (137,000)
  3. North Carolina (111,000)
  4. South Carolina (72,000)
  5. Georgia (62,000)
  6. Arizona (57,000)
  7. Indiana (32,000)
  8. Colorado (31,000)
  9. Tennessee (28,000)
  10. Oklahoma (25,000)



Source link

Continue Reading

Oklahoma

Why Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Says John Mateer is ‘Focused’ Ahead of Spring Ball

Published

on

Why Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Says John Mateer is ‘Focused’ Ahead of Spring Ball


NORMAN — High highs and low lows defined John Mateer’s first season at Oklahoma.

Mateer, who transferred to OU ahead of the 2025 season, led the Sooners to a 10-3 record and their first College Football Playoff appearance since 2019. He threw for 1,215 yards and logged 11 touchdowns in OU’s first four games, helping them win each of them.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

“His best football was as good as there is in college football,” OU coach Brent Venables said.

In the back half of the season, though, Mateer wasn’t as efficient. After returning from a hand injury that kept him out of the Kent State game, Mateer completed only 59.4 percent of his passes for 1,670 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions over the Sooners’ final eight contests.

Advertisement

Venables is well aware of the good and the bad from Mateer’s first season in Norman. And the coach is pleased with Mateer’s focus throughout the first few months of the offseason.

Advertisement

“He’s in the building every day with his coaches, and very focused in that space,” Mateer said. “And I’ll meet with him frequently as well, from a leadership standpoint.”

Mateer’s up-and-down campaign came after his superb season at Washington State in 2024. As the Cougars’ starter that year, he threw for 3,370 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Advertisement

The SEC, though, is much more challenging than the primarily-Mountain West schedule that Mateer faced at WSU.

Advertisement

Venables is confident that Mateer will be more consistent in his second season with the Sooners, thanks to one year in the conference under his belt and the reps against Oklahoma’s defense throughout its spring and fall camps.

“I try to give him a defensive lens with plays that we’ve made some different cut ups for him,” Venables said. “The more you know about the other side of the ball, like intimately, deeply, like you know it maybe better than your side of the ball you can just elevate your game to another level.”

Though Mateer’s production dipped late in the season, he was far from the only inconsistent player on OU’s offense.


Advertisement

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.


The Sooners scored more than 30 points in only one of their final eight games. Oklahoma also averaged just 316.3 yards per game during that stretch and rushed for only 3.4 yards per carry.

Advertisement

OU’s front office did plenty to reinforce the unit during the offseason.

Advertisement

The Sooners signed three wide receivers — Trell Harris, Parker Livingstone and Mackenzie Alleyne — from the transfer portal. Oklahoma also added multiple tight ends, offensive linemen and running backs from the portal. The Sooners will also have several true freshmen — like running backs DeZephen Walker and Jonathan Hatton Jr. and wide receiver Jayden Petit — who may contribute immediately.

Venables noted how Mateer has grown as a leader since the start of last season and that he is much more “relational” than he was previously.

Ultimately, the coach believes that Mateer is in a better position to be one of college football’s best quarterbacks in 2026.

“He cares about the freshman walk-on guy as much as the new right tackle, and those are some of the qualities that John has that make him very endearing to everybody in the building,” Venables said. “He’s a passionate and an enthusiastic guy too, but he’s never been an over-the-top fake kind of guy, and you can’t fabricate just being genuine and authentic. And so he’s very relational with the guys.”

Advertisement

Oklahoma will begin its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending