OKLAHOMA CITY – The throng of early voters at the Oklahoma County Board of Elections, Edmond, and across the state showed little sign of abating Thursday, Day 2.

When Free Press visited the Election Board location on N. Lincoln in OKC on Thursday afternoon between 3 and 4 p.m., the line stretched halfway to Lincoln in the parking lot, just as it did on Wednesday, the first day.

The first person we spoke to at three o’clock walked to his car and said that by the time he went to vote he had already been in line for “an hour and twenty-two minutes.”

As we walked to the front of the line, just before the final turn to the door, we spoke to several people who said they had waited about 50 minutes to an hour.

Tori seemed cheerful and said she always votes early instead of waiting until the last day.

The self-identified African-American had a somber reason for making sure nothing would come between her and voting.

“Too many people have fought too hard for the right to vote” to be casual about it, Tori said.

Two friends, Tasha James and Cameron Doan, said their work schedule prevented them from going to their local precinct on Tuesday, a common statement among those waiting to vote early.

So far, neither the federal government nor the states have made Election Day a holiday that would pave the way for more people to vote on that day.

This reality makes early voting policies and schemes important for voter participation in all fifty states.

We spoke to three people who had a friendly conversation after meeting at the end of the line about 45 minutes earlier.

Michelle said she went to vote early Tuesday because of her work schedule.

“I just always do this because I think it’s the quickest and easiest way to vote,” Barbara said.

Tom is a poll worker in a district other than his own, so it was somewhat of a necessity for him to vote early, he said.

We asked if he had any negative experiences as a metro poll worker and he quickly said he had “only had good experiences.”

By the numbers

At 4:28 p.m. on Thursday, October 31, the second day of early voting, the Oklahoma State Election Board reported the following:

In Oklahoma County

• There were 29,472 absentee ballots received by mail.
• 14,052 in-person absentee ballots (early voting) had been received.

By the state of Oklahoma

• There were 91,011 absentee ballots received by mail.
• 144,370 in-person absentee ballots (early voting) had been received.

More options to vote

Early voting takes place across Oklahoma from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Tuesday is Election Day and local precincts are open for voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you are in line when the polls close on Election Day, stay in line and you will still be allowed to vote.

You can preview your specific ballot at Okay voter portal. Enter your name and date of birth, and the system will provide your specific voter information. You can also see your voter status.

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Founder, publisher and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reporting and photography to this site as he runs the company.