Local races on the ballot
Voters in Lincoln and Pottawatomie Counties are joining others across Oklahoma in deciding local, state and federal contests in next Tuesday’s General Election.
Early in-person voting already started onWednesday at Election Boards in Lincoln and Pottawatomie Counties and throughout the state and continues through Saturday.
Lincoln County Election Board Secretary Melissa Stambaugh and Pottawatomie CountyElectionBoard Secretary Patricia Carter point out that early voting at their respective election boards in Chandler and Shawnee are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m today (Thursday) and Friday and from 8 a.m to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The Lincoln County Election Board is located at 811 N. Manvel in Chandler in the lobby of the courthouse.
The Pottawatomie County Election board is located at 330 N. Broadway in Shawnee.
Several races are of special interest to area voters in Lincoln County as they help choose a new Lincoln County District 1 commissioner, a new District 23 Judge for Office No. 1 and a new District 28 State Senator.
The District 1 County Commissioner contest is between Republican Will Fine and Democrat Earl Glenn. The winner claims a four-year term and will replace retiring Commissioner Carl Munson.
The race for District Judge is between Traci L. Soderstrom and Joe Dobry. They are seeking the Office now held by District Judge Cindy Ashwood who is retiring after serving 12 years on the bench.
Voters throughout Pottawatomie County also will be voting on the race for the new judge.
The District 28 State Senate contest features Republican Grant Green and Democrat Karen Rackley. They are vying for the seat now held by State Sen. Zack Taylor, who decided to not seek re-election.
Voters in Lincoln County Southwest Fire District will choose a member for the Board of Directors between Royce Ramey, Erick McClure and Chandra Welt.
Area races of interest to voters in Pottawatomie County in addition to the District Judge contest include State Representative District 26, State Senator District 28 and District 3 County Commissioner.
Republican State Rep. Dell Kerbs in District 26 has a Democrat challenger Gregory Hardin.
Some voters in the county will cast ballots in the State Senator District 28 race between Green and Rackley and those voters in Commissioner District No. 3 will decide between incumbent Eddie Stackhouse, a Democrat, and Republican Abbigale Thompson.
Voters throughout both counties also will cast ballots on a number of statewide races for state and federal offices and also whether to retain some justices on the State Supreme Court and Court of Civil Appeals.