Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Since you're now a full-time resident of your college town, all laws and political decisions made about the town can impact your life. It makes sense to get registered here so you can have a voice!
Yes, you can use your residence hall address! Just like the answer above, your residence hall address is your full-time residence where you attend school, so this is an acceptable address to use for voter registration.
If your address is incorrect or you have changed your name, you must update/re-register to vote using the OK Voter Portal. If you are updating a previous registration due to a name change, you must also provide your previous legal name.
The address on your ID doesn't have to be current. However, you are required to update this information with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, in writing, within 10 days of any change in your mailing address, residential address, county of residence, or name change. You can find more information on the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety website.
If you do not have an Oklahoma State ID or Driver's License, you can register or submit your vote by mail/absentee ballot application using your SSN.
Yes! You may show any document issued by the United States, the State of Oklahoma, or a federally-recognized tribal government if it includes your name, a photo of you, and an expiration date that is later than the election in which you are voting. The following documents meet these requirements:
- Oklahoma Driver's License
- Oklahoma identification card
- United States passport
- United States military identification
- Your OU ID
- Tribal ID
Not a problem! Please email us at voting@ou.edu with all the documents and/or proof of residence and identification requirements you need printed and we'll take care of the rest.
Yes. You must only vote at one; don't vote or request a vote by mail/absentee ballot at the other. Eventually, your name will be removed from the registration rolls at the other. People move frequently, so there are lots of inactive names on the rolls. You are in good company. When you update your registration, there will be a line that asks you where you were registered before. Be sure to complete that so that your name is no longer associated with your previous address on the voter files.
- You don't need to specify a party for general elections. However, you do need to specify a party for primary elections.
- In primary elections, your ballots will have options from the candidates from the party you selected. Oklahoma has "closed primaries," which require that you choose your party in advance (when you register).
- The choice of "No Party" on the registration form is the equivalent of choosing Independent.
- No Party or Independent voters in Oklahoma may request a Democratic ballot in the primary elections. The Democratic party has opted to allow this. However, the Republican and Libertarian parties have chosen to keep their primaries closed, and only registered Republicans and Libertarians can vote in those respective primaries.
Yes. As long as you don't fill out and mail the absentee ballot you receive, you will be fine to vote in-person on Election Day or during early voting. Just make sure that you don't try to vote twice by mailing your completed absentee ballot and voting in another way (i.e. early voting or election-day voting).
