Stillwater NewsPress

Local News

February 13, 2012

New Oklahoma voter ID law debuts for Tuesday's election

Precincts updated as a result of census

STILLWATER, Okla. — Tuesday’s election is the first to take place since two voting procedural changes.

The first is a voter ID law that was approved by 74 percent of voters via a state question in the November 2010 election. The proof of identity law requires every in-person voter to show proof of identity before receiving a ballot.

Any document used to prove ID must include a voter’s name, a photograph of that person and have an expiration date that makes it valid at the time of the election. The ID must be issued by the federal government, state government or a federally recognized Indian tribe or nation. The law also requires the name on the ID to match that in precinct registry.

Acceptable forms of identification include an Oklahoma driver license, a state identification card, a passport or military identification.

According to the Oklahoma Election Board, a state identification card for those above age 65 that do not have an expiration date or the free voter identification cards issued by county election boards can also be used to vote in accordance with state law even though neither fits all of the requirements of voter name, picture and expiration date.

Some voters in the area will also have a new precinct on Tuesday. Federal law requires a census every 10 years. Once new population numbers are collected, new district lines for federal, state and local governments are redrawn to reflect changes in population. This redistricting also means that election boards are required to alter precinct lines.

New voter registration cards should reflect any changes in polling places, but voters can also check their polling place online.

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