Two weeks after Oklahomans voted across the state, the dust has settled on several recounts — none of which resulted in a change to the outcome of the Aug. 27 elections.
The four-day recount of more than 55,000 votes in the Tulsa mayoral race wrapped up Tuesday with no change to the outcome of the primary election: State Rep. Monroe Nichols (D-Tulsa) and Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith have advanced to a runoff.
Tulsa County District Court Presiding Judge Dawn Moody ordered a recount of ballots from the Tulsa mayoral race and from City Council District 3 after a 90-minute-long hearing Thursday, granting Brent VanNorman and Susan Frederick’s requests respectively. A third election challenge filed by Angela Chambers in District 1 alleging election irregularities was dismissed as frivolous, although Chambers has expressed frustration with that determination.
The District 3 recount began shortly after noon Thursday and concluded within the day with no change in the outcome. Initial election tallies showed that Susan Frederick finished with 1,109 votes, 186 votes fewer than Jackie Dutton, who got 1,295 votes. The recount showed each candidate losing three ballots, making the final tally 1,292 votes for Dutton and 1,106 votes for Frederick.
The mayoral recount, which began after the District 3 recount and continued through Tuesday afternoon, resulted in no changes to the vote total from Osage County precincts. In Tulsa County, Keith lost 13 votes, Nichols lost nine votes and VanNorman lost six votes. Paul Tay was the only candidate to gain a vote, coming out of the recount with one more than he had been credited previously.
With the election officially certified, Nichols led the race with 18,752 votes (33.12 percent) to Keith’s 18,458 (32.26 percent). VanNorman placed a close third with 18,021 votes (31.83 percent).
Casey Bradford’s vote total ended unchanged with 824 votes, John Jolley received 366 votes, Kaleb Hoosier received 106 votes and Paul Tay received 87 votes.
Both runoff candidates released statements shortly after the Tulsa County Election Board certified the results, and VanNorman released a statement saying he would accept the results.
“This recount has reaffirmed our faith in the integrity of our elections, and we appreciate the hard work of the poll workers and vote counters who ensured every vote was accurately counted,” Keith said. “I’m focused on the runoff election on Nov. 5 and sharing my vision for our city with as many voters as possible. I’m committed to improving public safety, enhancing economic development and fostering bipartisan solutions that bring our community together and move Tulsa forward.”
Nichols said he was pleased to see the results of the election were verified.
“Faith in our system and integrity in our election process are critical in our democracy. I remain proud of our campaign and our focus on the most pressing issues facing Tulsa,” Nichols said. “I want to thank the Tulsa County Election Board for their professionalism, the volunteers who showed up to ensure every vote was counted and my fellow candidates for their civility throughout this process. Now, it’s time for our community to move forward in what is one of the most consequential elections in Tulsa’s history.”
The VanNorman campaign issued a statement extending thanks to the recount staff for ensuring that the process ran smoothly.
“While the overall outcome didn’t change, the recount has played out fairly, and we stand by the results,” VanNorman said. “Our campaign has been built on integrity and commitment to Tulsa’s future, and I’m proud of the hard work put in by everyone during the recount. While this race has come to an end, our commitment to the city remains stronger than ever.”
Recounts also were held Thursday in two legislative districts in central Oklahoma, and a recount was held in the Wagoner County sheriff’s GOP runoff. Meanwhile, a judge threw out a request from a district attorney seeking a recount in the Comanche County sheriff’s race.
Legislative district recounts moot in HD 20, SD 15
No change in results was reported in the House District 20 race after recounts were held in Cleveland and McClain counties. Mike Whaley, who lost by five votes out of 3,341 ballots cast in the Aug. 27 runoff to Jonathan Wilk, requested the recount. When provisional ballots were counted before the recount, the spread between the two candidates increased from two votes to five votes, with Wilk receiving 1,673 votes (50.07 percent) and Whaley receiving 1,668 votes (49.93 percent).
Recounts conducted in both counties Thursday resulted in no changes to the HD 20 vote count, said Misha Mohr, public information officer for the Oklahoma State Election Board.
Wilk will face Democrat Mitchell Jacob in the Nov. 5 general election.
In the Senate District 15 race, no change in the outcome of that contest occurred, as the recount showed Lisa Standridge — who finished 51 votes ahead of Robert Keyes on Aug. 27 — still prevailing. Six provisional ballots were added to the final tally, with five going to Standridge and one for Keyes, giving Standridge a 55-vote lead, 2,507 (50.55 percent) to 2,452 (49.45 percent).
A recount of the votes cast in the SD 15 race showed no change for Standridge and Keyes losing one vote, Mohr said. The final tally is 2,507 votes (50.56 percent) for Standridge and 2,451 (49.44 percent) votes for Keyes.
Keyes also filed a petition alleging irregularities other than fraud, but he withdrew it after the recount was completed Friday. He had questioned how figures posted on the Oklahoma Election Data Warehouse, a public access site under the State Election Board, had different vote totals in 24 precincts in Cleveland County. He also raised questions about eight people who were listed as voting in the Oklahoma Election Data Warehouse data while campaign mailings to them were returned because they were not deliverable as addressed and whether a notary public used by the Standridge campaign notarized more than the allowable 20 ballots.
Standridge and Keyes had a hard-fought Republican runoff for the right to face Democrat Elizabeth Foreman in November for the open SD 15 seat, which circles the core of Norman.
The State Election Board is scheduled to certify the results of the HD 20 and SD 15 runoffs during a special meeting Wednesday.
Sheriff races: Comanche County challenge rejected; no change in Wagoner County recount
The State Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday succeeded in dismissing a bid by Comanche County District Attorney Kyle Cabelka to deny certification of the Aug. 27 Republican Comanche County sheriff runoff results.
Comanche County District Court Judge Jay Walker denied Cabelka’s request and ordered that the Comanche County Election Board certify the results of the sheriff’s race.
Cabelka cited five instances where irregular votes were cast in multiple voter precincts as sufficient cause to throw out the runoff, and he asked the governor to order a new election.
According to a motion filed in Comanche County District Court to dismiss Cabelka’s filing, Assistant Attorney General Evan Edler said such a request may only be brought by a candidate of the relevant election.
“Obviously, Cabelka is not a candidate,” he wrote.
Also, Cabelka failed to follow the required process in state law when alleging voter fraud or irregularities, Edler wrote.
“The Oklahoma Legislature set out a clear path for contesting election results,” he said. “Specifically, such a contest shall be initiated by ‘filing a written petition with the appropriate election board.'”
Instead, Cabelka filed his petition in Comanche County District Court, Edler said.
Results from the Aug. 27 runoff showed Michael Merritt winning by 628 votes. He received 3,595 votes (54.79 percent) to defeat opponent Andy Moon, who received 2,967 votes (45.21 percent).
Edler said Cabelka’s petition fell short of the standard required by Oklahoma law to stop certification of an election. A petition should allege a sufficient number of irregularities to question the winner and make it impossible to determine with mathematical certainty which candidate is to be certified as the party’s nominee, Elder said.
Because Merritt won by 628 votes, Cabelka’s petition would have had to allege at least 628 irregularities, Edler wrote. Cabelka alleged five irregularities in his petition.
“That number does not even begin to approach the figure required to establish an impossibility to mathematically determine the runoff’s winner,” Edler wrote. “Even further, the petition relies heavily upon pure speculation.”
Cabelka’s petition was filed one day after five Oklahoma lawmakers from Lawton sent a letter to Oklahoma State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax requesting a formal investigative audit after a report of improper ballot distribution was submitted to the Comanche County Election Board.
On Aug. 29, an anonymous Democratic voter in Comanche County told KSWO he was given two ballots on Election Day, one of which included the Republican sheriff runoff election. Not realizing the mistake until after his ballot was cast, the man called the Comanche County Election Board to notify officials. Since then, more Democratic voters have reported being given a ballot for the Republican sheriff’s race.
A Democrat, David Stroud, awaits in the Nov. 5 general election.
In Wagoner County, a recount Thursday resulted in no change in the total votes or in the margin of victory in the sheriff’s race. The recount showed Sheriff Chris Elliott won by 35 votes over Tyler Cooper in the Aug. 27 Republican primary in which 8,619 votes were cast.
The recount tally matched the runoff results, with Elliott receiving 4,327 votes (50.2 percent) and Cooper getting 4,292 votes (49.8 percent). Cooper filed for the recount. The runoff results were certified by the Wagoner County Election Board after the recount.
According to an article in the Tulsa World, Elliott, after the recount, said: “I want to give a big thanks to all my supporters. I don’t have any ill feelings about my opponent. I wish his family the best.”
Only Republicans filed for the sheriff’s race, so Elliott will begin his new term in January.
Notice drama delayed recount in Osage County
In the Tulsa mayor’s race, initial results showed VanNorman finishing 436 votes behind Keith, who earned second place to advance to a runoff with Nichols, who topped the seven-candidate field.
Nearly four dozen people packed into Moody’s courtroom on Thursday, with all three of the top mayoral candidates appearing alongside their attorneys. Former Attorney General John O’Connor represented VanNorman.
Moody opened the hearing by asking if all of the other candidates had been served with notice of the court hearing, and O’Connor spent several minutes explaining why not every candidate was served.
According to O’Connor, at least one mayoral candidate — Hoosier — moved out of state and Tay intended to file a motion to intervene. Tay did not file anything by the time of the hearing and did not make an appearance. O’Connor said he communicated with Jolley and said he waived his right to service in the case. Keith and Bradford were successfully served notice of the hearing.
“We did everything we could do to comply (with the service requirement),” O’Connor said.
Taylor Burke, representing Keith, briefly chimed in to note the statute provided no remedy for failure to serve notice in election challenges and that the presence of the parties at the hearing appeared to satisfy the statutory requirements.
While Nichols’s attorney, Laurie Phillips, objected that her client was not served before the hearing, Moody seemed convinced by Burke’s argument, and she ruled in favor of going ahead with the recount after Tulsa County Election Board Secretary Gwen Freeman testified that 40 to 50 poll workers were ready to start the recount as the attorneys argued in the courtroom.
While the service questions did not derail the Tulsa County recount, the objection did delay the start of the Osage County recount until Monday. VanNorman represented himself in Osage County on Friday and was the sole candidate to attend the hearing alongside Phillips and Burke. While Osage County Associate District Court Judge Burl Estes was initially ready to allow the recount to proceed, Phillips objected that Nichols was never served notice of the hearing and did not have time to find recount watchers to observe the recount.
Burke noted that while VanNorman attempted service for the Tulsa County hearing, no attempt appeared to have been made to notify candidates of the Osage County hearing. He also noted that other candidates should have been served notice and did not have a representative at the hearing. After hearing from Burke and Phillips, Estes reversed course and ordered the Osage County recount be reconvened Monday to give the candidates time to recruit recount watchers in that county.
Tulsa District 3 recount sustains results, District 1 recount called ‘frivolous’
Phillips also represented Jackie Dutton in the District 3 recount case, while Frederick represented herself. In the initial count, Dutton received 1,295 votes (53.8 percent) to 1,109 votes (46.2 percent) for Frederick.
When speaking in court, Frederick alluded to election irregularities such as voters registered to vote with post office box addresses, but she was cut off by Moody — the Tulsa County judge — because her initial petition only requested a recount and did not allege irregularities. After a few minutes, Moody ordered a recount in District 3, which ultimately resulted in each candidate losing three votes.
The District 1 hearing was the shortest of the three contested races in Tulsa County, lasting only a few minutes. Neither Angela Chambers nor Vanessa Hall-Harper appeared in court. Hall-Harper was represented by Phillips, who briefly reiterated her motion to dismiss the claim of election irregularities.
Chambers did not appear during the hearing, but former Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2 candidate Melissa Myers sat at the plaintiff’s table in Chambers’ place and informed the court that Chambers was unable to make the hearing owing to a personal matter. Moody dismissed the filing as frivolous.
Chambers’ petition alleged that an associate pastor at Vernon AME Church spent large portions of the day in a polling site at the church while not working as an election worker. The filings also alleged that the pastor electioneered for Hall-Harper and recorded voters entering and leaving the polling site.
When dismissing the case, Moody said Chambers had failed to check either of the two boxes that indicated the relief sought, either a finding that the candidate lawfully won the election or a finding that it is impossible to determine the result with mathematical certainty. Because Chambers failed to indicate any type of relief sought, the case was dismissed as frivolous, and Phillips requested her attorney fees be paid by Chambers.
