Voters Brave Long Lines As Early Voting Begins In Tulsa County

Early voting for the Nov. 5 election started Wednesday, with more than 5,000 voters casting ballots in Tulsa County, according to Election Board Secretary Gwen Freeman. A strong turnout limited to two locations in Tulsa led to long lines, with some voters waiting almost two hours to reach the voting booth.

At the smaller of two sites in Tulsa, the line was wrapped around the building all day, and people were waiting in line at 6 p.m. when the line was cut off, and only voters already in line were allowed to cast ballots. Early voting hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Election Day hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Election officials in Tulsa urged voters to go to a larger site in East Tulsa, which had many more parking spaces and voting machines. Despite the extra size, the wait there was even longer than downtown, and traffic was backed up a half mile away to reach the site at 12000 Skelly Drive. A second entrance is available off 11th Street across from East Central High School.

The limited parking at the downtown site will be in even shorter supply on Friday and Saturday when parking at the election board is only available for handicapped voters and precinct workers.