In-person polls open 7 to 7 today

With both major parties encouraging their people nationally to vote early in an attempt to show momentum, the number of votes cast in Custer County during this year’s three-day open voting period was 107 more than in the last presidential mid-term election in 2014.
Jentry Howell, an employee of the Custer County Election Board Office, said 701 people voted early this time compared to 594 four years ago. Of course the way they voted won’t be counted until after the regular polls close tonight at 7 p.m.
Phones will be answered at the Clinton Daily News at 323-5151 with results given out as they become available. In addition, the Daily News will be airing news alerts via email to its regular subscribers.
Some interesting local races may have helped boost the early-voting total this year.
Here in Clinton, longtime City Councilman Don Rodolph, who’s also a longtime former mayor, is being challenged for his Ward 2 seat by political newcomer Ernie Dowdell.
And in Custer County District 3, where the commissioner’s seat is held by Lyle Miller, one of his employees, Clifton Dale Ray, is challenging him. Their race has been one of the most spirited for a commissioner’s seat in years.
Unlike the City Council race, where candidates run as non-partisan with no connection to a political party, the commissioner candidates do state their party affiliations. Miller is the Republican candidate, Ray the Democrat.
There are two other local races, for associate district judge in Judicial District 2 and for state senator in State Senate District 38, which runs from north of Clinton and Weatherford to south of Lawton.
The judge’s race is between Donna Dirickson, who’s served 9 years as a special district judge, and Ricky McPhearson, who’s been an assistant district attorney for 24 years. Both are Weatherford residents, and the position they’re seeking is nonpartisan.
Jeff Berrong, a Democrat from Weatherford, and Brent Howard, Republican from Lawton, are the candidates for state senator from this district. Neither has held office at that level before.
Of course there are also lots of state and national offices at stake this year, most notably governor and U.S. representative from District 3.
In addition, people will be voting on five state questions which could change the Oklahoma Constitution, including whether optometrists will be permitted to conduct eye care in large retail establishments and whether the governor and lieutenant governor will be elected as a team in the future. At present candidates for those two positions run independently, with the possibility that one could be from one political party and the other from another, or even an independent.
Sample ballots were printed in the Oct. 31 edition of the Clinton Daily News, with each of the state questions listed in their entirety.