TULSA, Okla. — An investigation is being launched after reports of poll workers not handing out ballots to some Tulsa voters on Tuesday.
The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office and the Tulsa County Election Board are leading the investigations.
Election Board officials told 2 News poll workers failed to hand out the ballots for the city council race to multiple voters at precinct 77 on 21st and Memorial in Tulsa. They confirm three poll workers were removed and replaced.
In a news conference on Tuesday afternoon election officials said there was a report around 7:45 a.m. that voters at precinct 77 did not get their city council ballots when they went to vote. The Election Board reached out to them and they confirmed they did start handing out the ballots at 8 a.m.
Three poll workers at Precinct 77 admitted to not handing out municipal ballots to around 30 to 40 voters when the polls first opened. That margin is now around 28 votes.
At Precinct 77 near 21st and Memorial, two ballots were handed out — one for the state and legislative races and the other for District 5 City Council. Both candidates, incumbent Mykey Arthrell and challenger Grant Miller, ended up with 50 percent of the vote and a narrow margin of just 28 votes giving Miller the win.
“When you have a margin like 28, that brings into contest the whole election because you don’t know what the outcome would’ve been and that’s not fair to the people that did show up and this process,” Arthrell said.
As a political newcomer, Miller is thankful to voters who helped him unseat the incumbent, but said this incident does dampen the victory.
“It’s a little bit stressful. Obviously, campaigning is a stressful time for not only the candidate but our families as well. It’s tough on everyone and so it’s unfortunate to have something like this happen,” Miller said.
The three poll workers in question were relieved of their duties and replaced once the election board was notified.
Arthrell said he’ll be contesting the race.
“It only makes sense to walk this process through and have the whole process investigated to find out what exactly happened,” he said.
Miller said he’s confident in the Oklahoma voters and their decision to name him the new District 5 councilor, but if there are irregularities, they should be investigated.
“We need to make sure our elections are fair and free of interference is the bottom line so we’ve gotta make sure that everything went right,” Miller said.
Both men say it’s unfortunate that this happened but they are confident in the DA’s office to find the facts of what happened and restore faith in the Oklahoma voting system.
If the number of votes is enough to impact the outcome of the election then either candidate in that race can file an "irregularity" by 5 p.m. Friday.
The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office released a statement saying they're reviewing the report:
“The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office takes allegations of ballot irregularities seriously. We have received the report from the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and will take our time reviewing the details. Upon that review, we will then determine if any charges will be filed.”
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