Comanche County voters turn out early

Early voting in Oklahoma began Wednesday and some Comanche County voters waited for three or more hours to cast their ballots at the Great Plains Coliseum.

“The lines are long,” said Comanche County Election Board Secretary Amy Sims. “Be patient, we’re checking in four people at a time. You might bring a chair to sit in line.”

Around 3 p.m., Sims and her staff had 960 ballots counted — a number she expected to largely increase by the end of the day.

Early voting will continue Thursday through Saturday. Times to vote are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, as well as 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. As long as voters are in line by the time the polls close, they will be allowed to vote.

A three plus hour line did not stop many Comanche County citizens from voting early.

Lourdes Umpierre, a retiree, shared that she voted for Kamala Harris at her first opportunity due to not knowing how the lines to vote would look. Umpierre, throughout her stay at the Colosseum to vote, shared that she had debated going home, but did not know if the following days would hold the same or longer line. Umpierre shared that she was excited to vote for Kamala Harris because: “I believe it’s time for a woman, especially a Black woman.”

Brittney Jefferson shared that she was voting for Kamala Harris: “I’m Black, I have a gay sister, and I have a daughter.” She shared that she had decided to vote early due to scheduling conflicts with her position as a healthcare worker. She encouraged other’s to get out and vote as well: “Make it your vote — it’s your choice.”

One woman shared that she wished to vote early due to a distrust of the voting process, as well as worries of election fraud caused by faulty voting machines, fires, power outages, or other things that may impede the voting process. “I think our country is in shambles right now, if we don’t get somebody in there with … good ideas, we’re spiraling down.” She also shared that she was dissatisfied with the last four years, especially regarding the economy. For those reasons, she decided to vote for Trump.

Waiting by his truck and watching the line, John Allen shared that he was planning to vote for Trump due simply to “The last four years. We can’t afford the inflation, we can’t afford the unchecked migration of illegal immigrants, it’s bankrupting the country.”

Allen was surprised to hear a two to three hour wait, and decided to wait until election day and vote at his usual polling place.

“The turn out is very large, and I think it’s for obvious reasons,” he said. “People want change.”