By Liz McMahan
The officials working at the polling place in the Webbers Falls special election Tuesday will not be from Webbers Falls, said Muskogee County Election Board Assistant Secretary Ellen Thames.
The election clerk, inspector and judge will be the ones who normally work at the precinct in McLain, a community a few miles north of Webbers Falls, Thames said.
“They have no vested interest in this at all,” she said.
This election at Webbers Falls is probably the most controversial Thames has been through in her 38 years at the Election Board, she said.
At the center of the controversy is whether Jewell Horne, a long-time member of the town Board of Trustees, continues to serve as mayor. The mayor is selected by the board. State law requires that selection be made in odd-numbered years at the first meeting of the newly elected board of trustees.
That election was held in April. Since then, Horne has walked out of board meetings before a mayor could be elected.
The two remaining trustees, Sonny Tipken and Dennis Berton, have alleged Horne is stalling the election of a mayor, hoping she will win support from the two trustees to be elected Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the District Attorney’s Office has launched an investigation of the town’s finances, and citizens have filed a petition with the state Attorney General asking for Horne’s removal from office.
Thames said there has been a lot of concern expressed about who may vote in Tuesday’s election.
All voters must be registered at an address in the city, but it is a “sticky wicket” as to what that means, Thames said.
The oath a voter signs when he registers states: “The information I have given is true, and I reside at the address given.”
A case decided in 1987 by the Oklahoma Supreme Court goes into detail about establishing residence and held that voters did not have to currently reside at an address to claim that as their residence. They do, however, have to be registered at an address in the municipality in order to vote.
Thames said the voter registration books that will be at the polling place Tuesday mark as “MU10” voters who reside within the Webbers Falls town limits. If that notation is not with a voter’s name, they will not be allowed to cast a regular ballot.
If the voter contends the book is in error, they may cast a provisional ballot that will be counted if the election board determines the voter is correct, Thames said.
Other than that, the Election Board does not make an effort to determine who actually lives at the registration address, she said. It is up to the voter to keep the registration current.
Whether voters legally cast ballots could be challenged by one of the losing candidates, but not without a cost, Thames said.
An electronic recount — requested because the candidate believes the votes were improperly cast — would be $600 in the Webbers Falls election.
If irregularities are alleged, a challenge is $250. Voter residency is frequently an issue raised in claims of irregularities, according to an article from the Oklahoma Bar Journal.
If voter fraud is alleged, there is a $5,000 fee, Thames said.
To allege irregularities or fraud, there must be enough votes in question that the outcome of the election could be changed, she said.
If those claims are filed, voters who questionably cast ballots might find themselves explaining why to a district judge, Thames said.
Candidates
Webbers Falls voters will select one trustee from each of two wards in a special election Tuesday. The candidates are:
WARD 1
• Lorene Dwyer
• Danielle Chapell
• Lance Bukowski
WARD 2
• Robert Ogg
• Iris Parker
When to vote
Absentee ballot: Deadline for request is 5 p.m. today.
In-person absentee: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Monday at Muskogee County Election Board.
Regular balloting: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Webbers Falls First Baptist Church.
Who may vote
Voters registered at an address in the town limits.
Information
Call the Muskogee County Election Board, 687-8151.
