Oklahoma election 2020: Voters experiencing hour-long waits at OKC metro polling places

Nov. 3--Election Day 2020 is finally here.

Follow along throughout the day Tuesday for up-to-date information from polling places across the Oklahoma City metro, news and notes from campaigns and much more.

If you're looking for last-minute guidance before filling out your ballot, The Oklahoman's voter guide has all the information you need to make informed decisions.

This evening we'll be keeping track of the results here.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Oklahoma State Election Board and OG&E report that all polling locations have power for today's election.

There are a limited number of polling locations using generator power and OG&E and ODEMHS have back-up generators available if an additional outage occurs today.

Voters hit the polls, some experience hour-plus waits

At Edmond's Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, voters appeared to be in good spirits as they waited about an hour to vote. Two precincts are voting at separate buildings at the church, and both lines stretched well out into the parking lot.

Most voters were wearing masks, although the lines were bunched in places, making social distancing difficult.

With temperatures in the 40s and a very light breeze, people were generally bundled up pretty well, although a couple of men in line were wearing shorts. The forecast is for temperatures to reach the 70s later today.

"I was ready to wait three hours," said one voter as he neared the door to the church. "Looks like they're letting them in in groups. The line moves, and then you wait a while." -- From The Oklahoman's Tim Willert, 8:55 a.m.:

At Norman's Berry Road Baptist Church, the wait to vote lasted about 45 minutes.

Me and my wife dropped our kids off at school about 7:30 and drove to our polling place, which was about a minute away.

The line stretched about half a block, but it went fast, primarily because I was standing in line with my proctologist, who shared the value of a private school education among other things.

People were polite and energetic and talkative, which helped take some of the stress out of the process.

Most were mask compliant. Some refused to put one on even when they entered the building. Social distancing was spotty, though. -- At Wildwood Community Church in Norman, Marlena Conway waited just 20 minutes to cast her vote for Joe Biden.

"It didn't take long and most people were spread apart," Conway, 47, said. "It wasn't bad."

Asked how this election felt different from previous elections, Conway said, "Oh my God, how does it not feel different from the rest? Are you kidding me?

"People are boarding up their businesses in big cities because riots might happen," she said. "Tensions are high."

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, other politicians hit the polls

Gov. Kevin Stitt, who was in line at his Oklahoma City polling place before 7 a.m., encouraged all Oklahomans to vote.

"Get out and exercise your right to vote," he said. "You can't complain if you're not part of the process."

Stitt declined to make election predictions, but said he thinks the presidential race will be close.

The Republican governor, who previously said he planned to vote for Trump, said he will work with whoever wins the presidential election.

Regardless of what happens nationally, Oklahoma is going to be focused on becoming a top 10 state, he said.

"We're going to be able to work with whoever the president of the United States is," Stitt said.

Asked about the long wait times for some early voting locations last week, Stitt said he noticed the long line of cars on Lincoln Boulevard as people waited to vote at the Oklahoma County Election Board.

Stitt said he is looking into whether more early voting locations might be necessary for subsequent elections, but noted lines at polling places on Tuesday were much shorter than those seen during Oklahoma's three-day early voting period.

"The lines today are very minimal compared to what we saw in early voting," he said.

Early voting numbers up and down

Early in-person voting was down this year in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties compared to 2016 -- more than 20% down. Even so, a record for early in-person voting in Oklahoma was set, thanks largely to voting in Oklahoma's smaller counties.

The decline in early in-person voting in Oklahoma's large counties is likely due to record increases in mail-in voting.

Oklahoma County reported 16,124 early in-person voters submitted ballots Thursday through Saturday, compared to 20,469 in 2016. Meanwhile, Oklahoma County has 54,000-plus mail-in ballots.

Here is a look at the statewide numbers for early voting (as of Monday morning):

Affiliation Mail Absentee in-person Total

Republican 109,358 92,926 202,284

Libertarian 1,196 764 1,960

Democrat 125,816 55,170 180,986

Independent 35,758 16,471 52,229

Totals 272,128 165,331 437,459

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