2022 OKC Mayoral Race

[Pete]

Today's the day.

Please remember to vote!

[David]

Voted first thing this morning just before 8:00, didn't seem like heavy turnout but a few people were leaving as I arrived and a few more arrived as I left. Might have just been the pre-work crowd.

[LocoAko]

Went right at 7AM and was the sixth in line to vote at my precinct, although there's always that early morning "rush". I know Holt is still heavily favored here, but it sounds like Carol Hefner made quite the last minute push blasting tons of folks with texts, mailers, digital ads, radio ads, etc., and I don't trust low turnout elections enough to completely relax. Go vote folks!

[Bill Robertson]

Went right at 7AM and was the sixth in line to vote at my precinct, although there's always that early morning "rush". I know Holt is still heavily favored here, but it sounds like Carol Hefner made quite the last minute push blasting tons of folks with texts, mailers, digital ads, radio ads, etc., and I don't trust low turnout elections enough to completely relax. Go vote folks!

I hope Carol's radio commercials don't turn anyone to her cause. Pretty close to a quote "I'm pro police and fire department. David Holt is pro rioters". OMG!!!! Really Carol?

[Thomas Vu]

Today's the day.

Please remember to vote!

Silly question, do I need to bring anything to the polling location? It's my first time participating in a local election and did absentee for presidential.

[Pete]

Silly question, do I need to bring anything to the polling location? It's my first time participating in a local election and did absentee for presidential.

A photo ID, like a driver's license.

[soonerguru]

I hope Carol's radio commercials don't turn anyone to her cause. Pretty close to a quote "I'm pro police and fire department. David Holt is pro rioters". OMG!!!! Really Carol?

Holt received the endorsements of both the Police and Fire unions. Carol is using the footage of Holt with BLM leaders as a trigger for racists, which is whom Carol is targeting in her strategy. Should be good to get her at least 12% of the vote. In a low turnout race, it could be higher.

It would be nice if people really turned out for Holt to repudiate her style of campaigning, which featured blatant misinformation about vaccines and masks, total lies about the origin of homeless people and how they became that way, and last but not least, a blatant appeal to racists.

Hopefully she is absolutely crushed in this election and will focus on real estate development instead of aspiring for political offices going forward.

[TheTravellers]

A photo ID, like a driver's license.

Actually, the county election board-issued voter ID card will also suffice if you don't have a photo ID for whatever reason.

https://oklahoma.gov/elections/voter...-identity.html

[king183]

Actually, the county election board-issued voter ID card will also suffice if you don't have a photo ID for whatever reason.

https://oklahoma.gov/elections/voter...-identity.html

Yep. I’ve only ever used my voter registration card as proof. If a voter has neither a photo ID or their voter registration card, they can still vote via a provisional ballot, provided they are willing to sign an affidavit testifying to their identity.

[Midtowner]

You seem to give Frank a lot of undeserved credit. His campaign, while not a complete horror film like Carol's, shows a total lack of understanding. Both of them are basically campaigning on the same MAPS critique: F the Streetcar. LOL. Urbanic is grandstanding on his ability to impact MAPS in the first place. Candidates that are so fundamentally dishonest deserve no foundation in our city government that, while far from perfect, has presided over a period of unprecedented improvement and general collegiality that is mostly untarnished by bare-knuckle partisanship and mindless populism.

Also, nothing is ever "in the bag" unless people vote. So, everyone reading this, please vote tomorrow if you have not already.

I think you may have misunderstood. Name recognition for a trial lawyer means you get clients. This is free advertising for him, which is really the only rational reason for him to hang in there. If anyone votes for Urbanic because he says he'll undo MAPS, they've been sold a bill of goods. The mayor is but one vote on the horseshoe. He couldn't defund the Streetcar even if he wanted to.

But how stupid do consultants have to be to have their guys run against the MAPS brand?? The MAPS brand isn't even a person and it wins every single time it comes up by massive margins. Even when we have projects which are unpopular such as the convention center.

Future candidates: If your consultant tells you that you should run against something that wins by no less than 55% of the vote every single time, why would you hire that person???

Future candidates: If you want to run against something that for the past 20+ years has won by 55% of the vote every single time, why are you wasting your time on this endeavor?

Urbanic isn't Carol Hefner. I still think he's a pretty serious person. That said, Mr. Lt. Colonel needs to review and re-review the stand down order, because I'm not sure he's quite in compliance.

The candidates and their consultants have been a real clown show this year.

[Rover]

I hope Carol's radio commercials don't turn anyone to her cause. Pretty close to a quote "I'm pro police and fire department. David Holt is pro rioters". OMG!!!! Really Carol?

Since when is the truth important to her persuasion?

[king183]

I think you may have misunderstood. Name recognition for a trial lawyer means you get clients. This is free advertising for him, which is really the only rational reason for him to hang in there. If anyone votes for Urbanic because he says he'll undo MAPS, they've been sold a bill of goods. The mayor is but one vote on the horseshoe. He couldn't defund the Streetcar even if he wanted to.

But how stupid do consultants have to be to have their guys run against the MAPS brand?? The MAPS brand isn't even a person and it wins every single time it comes up by massive margins. Even when we have projects which are unpopular such as the convention center.

Future candidates: If your consultant tells you that you should run against something that wins by no less than 55% of the vote every single time, why would you hire that person???

Future candidates: If you want to run against something that for the past 20+ years has won by 55% of the vote every single time, why are you wasting your time on this endeavor?

One bit of nuance/warning I’d add to this. If a consultant is telling you to run against something that won 55% or more of the vote in a previous election, the consultant is either doing that because 1) they are incompetent, 2) they have a clear financial interest in doing so, or 3) they have polling data that shows the “something” —MAPS in this case—has soured in favorability ratings and there may be a winning tactic related to that. I haven’t seen anything to indicate MAPS is no longer popular and I’d be shocked if it that were the case, but, having run these types of campaigns before, if I were a MAPS supporter, I’d immediately wonder what the polling data shows on it and wonder if there is something surprising there. I remember a race in Norman many years ago when an initiative on the ballot passed by large margins (i.e., it was very popular at the time of the election), yet candidates who ran against it two years later won because their polling data showed the public had turned against project—and people were shocked by it.

My inclination, based on what I’ve seen from these candidates, is to believe the consultant is either incompetent or just seeking to rake in the money on advertising deals and not because they have any reliable data showing the public has soured on MAPS.

[Bill Robertson]

Since when is the truth important to her persuasion?

Excellent point.

[baralheia]

(EDIT: Oops, others beat me to the punch - that'll teach me to reply before reading the rest of the thread, lol)

A photo ID, like a driver's license.

You can also present your VoterID card for identification.

From https://oklahoma.gov/elections/faqs.html#c247:

You may show any document issued by the United States, the State of Oklahoma, or a federally recognized tribal government if it includes your name, a photograph of you, and an expiration date that is later than the election in which you are voting. For example, the following documents meet these requirements:

Oklahoma driver license
Oklahoma Identification Card
United States passport
United States military identification

The law also requires that your name on your proof of identity must match your name in the Precinct Registry

There are two alternatives to showing a photo identification described above:

1. You may show the free Voter Identification Card issued by the County Election Board as proof of identity even though it does not include a photograph.

2. You may vote by provisional ballot and prove your identity by signing a sworn affidavit.

[Mott]

Went to vote, went in the wrong precinct room, and a very ‘in charge’ individual, examining my voter ID said wrong room, but that my card was old and needed to be replaced. Same address as the card (from 2007), went to correct room, no questions or problems. So if you don’t change address, or party affiliation, how long is a voter ID card good for?

[soonerguru]

I just use my driver’s license.

[king183]

Went to vote, went in the wrong precinct room, and a very ‘in charge’ individual, examining my voter ID said wrong room, but that my card was old and needed to be replaced. Same address as the card (from 2007), went to correct room, no questions or problems. So if you don’t change address, or party affiliation, how long is a voter ID card good for?

Yeah, I think our election board needs to do a better job training the precinct workers on a lot of process, procedure, and etiquette. When I voted today, the poll worker was standing right next to the machine and looking at every single person's ballot as they put it in. That's not allowed.

[Brett]

Silly question, do I need to bring anything to the polling location? It's my first time participating in a local election and did absentee for presidential.

I've brought my own black ball point pen to fill out the ballot instead of using the communal black pens provided in the cardboard booths. I'm a bit of a germophobe since the pandemic started.

[fortpatches]

I don't know how long they are "good" for, but you should have received a new one if they changed your polling place. I think I got my third one in three years because my polling place keeps getting moved.

To get a new one, you have to contact the county election board. There is no easy way to get one. You will have to email them or call.
They really should put a button to request a new one on the OK Voter Portal https://okvoterportal.okelections.us/

[LordGerald]

[QUOTE=Brett;1195911]I've brought my own black ball point pen to fill out the ballot instead of using the communal black pens provided in the cardboard booths. I'm a bit of a germophobe since the pandemic started.

My polling place told me to take the pen to avoid germs! They had hundreds in stock./QUOTE]

[Jersey Boss]

Yeah, I think our election board needs to do a better job training the precinct workers on a lot of process, procedure, and etiquette. When I voted today, the poll worker was standing right next to the machine and looking at every single person's ballot as they put it in. That's not allowed.

Voters can put the ballot face down into the machine to preserve their secrecy. Not a problem.

[Pete]

[catcherinthewry]

I'm really hoping Carol comes in last.

[April in the Plaza]

Does Holt just need a simple 50% +1 to avoid a runoff?

[Pete]

Does Holt just need a simple 50% +1 to avoid a runoff?

Yes.