Why some Oklahoma counties have more places to vote early

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Early voting numbers are breaking records in Oklahoma, but it's Cleveland County leading the way with turnout.

On the first day alone, nearly 9,000 voters showed up in Cleveland County, breaking the record set back in 2020 by thousands.

Cleveland County has the third largest population in the state, behind Tulsa County and Oklahoma County, and still had the largest turnout.

"I think it was because we had more locations maybe? I think that helps get the vote out, so it gives more options for the voters," said Bryant Rains, Cleveland County Election Board Secretary.

In Cleveland County, voters can choose from four different locations to vote early, more than any other county in the state.

Rains says they have the staff and resources to be spread out across the county.

The state’s two most-populated counties, Oklahoma County and Tulsa County, only give their voters two locations to cast votes early.

"Ridiculous. This is a large enough community, city that we should have multiple locations to early vote and possibly even more days to early vote," said Kristen Ritchie, voter in Oklahoma County.

Ritchie set aside a couple of hours to vote, she's afraid others may not have that luxury.

"If somebody is working at a job where they're paid by the hour and expected to be back in two hours, this may not be a possibility for them to stand in line for this long to exercise their right to vote," said Ritchie.

The Oklahoma State Election Board says the number of early voting sites is up to each county.

News 4 reached out to the Oklahoma County Election Board who was unable to comment on camera because they were too busy. They told us adding more locations would be impossible because they do not have the resources or staff.