NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 13, 2022
CONTACT: State Election Board PIO Misha Mohr, (405) 522-6624 [email protected]
Recount Confirms Oklahoma County DA Race Headed to Runoff Recounts Confirm Outcome of Three Primary Elections (Oklahoma City) – Recounts in the Oklahoma County District Attorney, District 7 Republican Primary, McIntosh County Commissioner, District 3 Democratic Primary, and the Nowata County Assessor Republican Primary have each confirmed the outcomes of those elections.
Last week’s recounts in McIntosh and Nowata counties exactly matched the election results.
The Oklahoma County recount was completed today and confirmed that the Republican Primary for District Attorney is headed to the August 23 Runoff. Out of nearly 58,000 ballots that were recounted by hand in Oklahoma County, only six changes occurred from the original count: Robert W. Gray (+2), Gayland Gieger (+2) and Kevin Calvey (+2).
“Recounts are an important part of the election process, and these recounts proved once again that Oklahoma has one of the most accurate and secure voting systems in the entire world. That is something that every Oklahoman can be proud of,” said Paul Ziriax, Secretary of the State Election Board.
“We appreciate the candidates who requested these three recounts because they provide clear evidence of the accuracy Oklahoma’s voting system. We have free, fair, safe and secure elections in the State of Oklahoma,” he stated.
Ziriax hopes the recounts will help dispel some of the misinformation that Oklahoma election officials have been hearing since 2020.
“These hand recounts are the latest proof that Oklahoma’s eScan voting devices accurately tabulate ballots. Voters should avoid misinformation that claims otherwise,” he said.
Today, the Oklahoma County Election Board will certify the post-recount election results for the Oklahoma County District Attorney, District 7 Republican Primary. The State Election Board will meet on Friday to certify those results.
Final election results for the June 28 Primary Election can be found on the State Election Board website at https://oklahoma.gov/elections.html. The Runoff Primary is Tuesday, August 23.
I trust our oklahoma elections a lot, and the people are very based and religious. I'm glad I live here during this difficult time.
I've never understood the sheer determination to prove e-voting systems are super-duper secure.
So what if the hand recount proves the e-tally, if the ballots (e.g. mail-in) are fraudulent? Or the ones set aside for adjudication are fraudulently changed? I think we could all go on about how elections have been rigged for a long time.
I dunno, maybe Oklahoma has very secure elections. But also, maybe they didn't get up to any shenanigans in this primary specifically to produce this story.
One election does not a secure voting system prove.
I hear you.
That said, OK does not allow dropboxes, was one of the first states to require Voter ID (passed in 2010), has some of the shortest early voting periods of all the states, requires mail in ballots to be requested prior to the elections officials mailing them out, only citizens registered to vote may vote, has robust signature validation, and strict adherence to election laws.
It also has a whole bunch of citizens watching elections officials and processes very closely.
Go OK! I wish all States were this invested in securing their elections and keeping them as honest as possible. It might not be perfect in OK, but it's certainly better there than -- for example -- Nevada where I'm at.
Just a note.
You are correct in saying OK is not perfect.
We must remain vigilant to the sneaky manipulations in elections that are much harder to detect...those written into the elections statutes for the purpose of influencing outcomes. These can be subtle and can result in perpetual elections results that propagate the very lawmakers who write the elections laws.
Take for instance the efforts going on now in the US Senate to alter the electoral college and role of the VP to adjudicate the electoral results from the states.
OK has bias in its election laws favoring the two party system of Democrats and Republicans.
OK recently changed election laws (in 2019) to put much power in a governor appointed leader of the OK Elections Board. Thankfully Ziriax appears to be committed to integrity. But it does not harm, imho, for him to know that he And all elections officials are under the microscope by citizens also committed to integrity in our elections.
u/#pepedetective
Very well said! I couldn't agree more.
The next couple of years are going to be crucial. I have a lot of hope that team Q and the (real) President can pull off a win for us all. Without the USA, where do we go?
To Almighty Creator God. With or without any nation.
Amen. 🙏