Election committee answers questions about incorrect ballot paper to voters

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) – When you go to the polling place, show your ID and state your party affiliation, and poll workers must then give you the correct ballot.

This was not the case for one voter who wished to remain anonymous.

“I voted on both ballots that were given to me and afterwards I realized, 'I don't think I would have received both ballots,'” the resident said.

The man said he went there to vote on Lawton's next mayor and the CIP proposal, and made it clear to poll workers that he was a Democrat. He has since received a second ballot alongside his own: the ballot for the sheriff's runoff, which was for Republican voters only.

“It was perfectly clear, and the lady behind the counter to whom I gave my ID clearly passed that information on to the other two gentlemen who gave me the wrong ballot,” the man said.

After he cast his vote, he said something about the situation felt odd. When he got home, he checked the voter portal and his suspicions were confirmed.

“It was strange that it happened, and that it happened so easily.”

To clear up the situation, he said, he called the Comanche County Election Commission.

“I explained that to her – basically what I just said. I went to vote and I think I got the wrong ballot. They took all the information they could from me. I gave them everything they wanted and that was pretty much the end of it. That's the last I heard,” he explained. “At that point, I only voted on the ballots I was given.”

At 7:32 p.m. on Election Day, the director of 7News sent an email to the Comanche County Board of Elections about the situation and asked if there were any further reports.

The next morning, a reply came from the secretary saying that the case had been closed and the station staff had been advised.

7News spoke to Amy Sims, the secretary of the Board of Elections, and she confirmed that someone ran a report on Election Day and said there was nothing they could do once a ballot entered the system.

“Such a mistake is not an insignificant one, as not enough people go to vote,” the resident added.

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