Nursing Home or Veteran's Center Voters

Voters confined to a nursing home or veteran’s center in the county where they are registered to vote may apply for absentee ballots to be delivered to them by a bipartisan Absentee Voting Board appointed by the County Election Board Secretary.

Voters confined to a nursing home or veteran’s center outside the county where they are registered to vote may apply for a Physically Incapacitated Absentee Ballot.

Skilled nursing facilities and assisted living communities are not defined by law as “nursing homes.” However, voters in those facilities and communities can apply for a no-excuse, Standard Absentee Ballot or may qualify for a Physically Incapacitated Absentee Ballot.

Apply or learn more about Standard Absentee Ballots.

Apply or learn more about Physically Incapacitated Absentee Ballots.

If you are eligible for a nursing home or veteran’s center absentee ballot you may submit your application to the appropriate County Election Board through the OK Voter Portal, by mail, fax, or email. You may also have an agent hand-deliver your application.

If you choose to have your application submitted to the County Election Board by an agent, the agent must meet the statutory requirements below.

• The agent must be at least 16 years old.
• The agent may not be employed by or related within the third degree by blood or marriage to a candidate whose name is on the ballot.
• The agent may act for only one voter, per election.

You may apply for absentee ballots for one election, for several elections, or for all elections during the calendar year, in which the application is submitted.

State law requires voters to provide an identification number that matches the identification number on their voter registration record when applying for an absentee ballot.

Only you, the voter, may request an absentee ballot. No one may request an absentee ballot on your behalf. It is against the law.

For those with computer access, the easiest way to apply is online through the OK Voter Portal. You can also download and print an application form from the website, or contact your County Election Board to have an application mailed to your place of residence.

Absentee ballot requests must be received no later than 5 p.m. the third Monday (15 days) before the election.

No earlier than 15 days prior to the election, a bipartisan Absentee Voting Board appointed by the County Election Board Secretary will go to all nursing homes and veteran’s centers where absentee ballots have been requested to distribute absentee balloting materials.

IMPORTANT: You must request an absentee ballot by the deadline in order to receive one.

Your absentee ballot packet will include absentee ballots, as well as instructions for voting, preparing, and returning an absentee ballot.

Here is a checklist:

• Ballot(s)
• White “Secrecy” Envelope
• Pink Affidavit Envelope
• Green Return Envelope
• Voting Instructions

Please inspect your packet carefully before voting. If you are missing a ballot, instructions, need a replacement or have questions regarding your packet, please ask an Absentee Voting Board member for assistance.

Please read all instructions thoroughly before marking or returning your ballot to the Absentee Voting Board. Absentee ballot laws are subject to change. Any changes to procedures will be noted in your absentee ballot packet.

Voter’s residing in or confined to a nursing home or veteran’s center “may request the assistance of the absentee voting board members to mark a ballot, complete the affidavit or seal the envelopes,” provided in the absentee ballot packet.

WARNING: By law, only absentee voting board members are allowed to assist voters residing in, or confined to, a nursing home or veteran’s center.

• It is a misdemeanor for an administrator or employee of a nursing facility or veterans center to prevent or attempt to prevent a person residing in, or confined to, that facility from voting.
  
• It is a felony for an administrator or employee of a nursing facility or veterans center to attempt to “coerce or influence the vote of a person residing in or confined to that facility.”

Nursing home and veteran’s center voters that believe their rights have been violated, as outlined by 26 O.S. § 14-115, should contact their County Election Board immediately.

Voters in nursing homes and veteran’s centers are not required to have their absentee ballot affidavits notarized; however, they are required to have their signatures witnessed by two members of the bipartisan Absentee Voting Board.

Voted absentee ballots are collected by the Absentee Voting Board and placed in a locked box and securely returned to the County Election Board.

You can track your absentee ballot using the OK Voter Portal. Once your ballot has been received, the portal will indicate the date of receipt.

If your absentee ballot was rejected, you will receive a letter from the County Election Board following the election. The letter will explain why your ballot could not be counted.

NOTE: The OK Voter Portal is a voter information system only, it does not “count” ballots or “tally” votes.