State Election Board Secretary Highlights Oklahoma's Robust Election Procedures

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  July 17, 2026
CONTACT:  Misha Mohr, Director of Communications and Public Information | 405.522.6624 |mmohr@elections.ok.gov

(Oklahoma City) – Oklahoma takes election security very seriously, and our state has excellent laws and procedures in place to help ensure the integrity of elections in our state.

State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said Oklahoma’s election system is designed to ensure that Oklahoma voters feel confident each time they cast a ballot. “We value election security and have worked with both state and federal partners for many years to ensure fair and secure elections here in our state. Additionally, our legislature has enacted laws specifically intended to proactively protect the integrity of our elections.”

Oklahoma employs many procedures and security features to ensure the safety of paper ballots, optical scan voting devices, and the validity of vote counts, including:

• Under state law, Oklahoma’s uniform statewide voting system relies on paper ballots that are hand marked by voters and tabulated by accurate optical scan voting devices. This type of voting system has worked exceptionally well in our state for more than three decades.
• Oklahoma’s voting devices do not have the capability to be networked or connected to the internet.
• Oklahoma conducts extensive testing of databases, voting devices, and ballots prior to each election.
• Voting devices and ballots are protected through a strict chain of custody, and it is a felony for any unauthorized person to access them.
• Voting devices are predefined for use in each precinct and are designed to reject counterfeit ballots.
• An anti-tampering digital signature is required at every step of the election process.
• Voting devices and election software are designed to detect and refuse tampering attempts. (It is a felony to tamper with any device, software, hardware, or other equipment used to conduct elections.)
• Each paper ballot has a unique identifier that can only be read once by a voting device.
• Each precinct has built-in bipartisan oversight with at least one precinct official from each of the state’s two largest recognized parties.
• County election board members or staff regularly canvass election results to ensure that printed vote totals from voting devices match the tabulated results.
• Following each statewide election, county election boards conduct random post-election audits as directed by the State Election Board Secretary.
• Since 2025, access to Oklahoma’s publicly available voter registration list has been restricted under state law to U.S. citizens who are Oklahoma residents, reducing the risk of foreigners and out-of-state bad actors obtaining it.
• Oklahoma law allows for the comparison of our state’s voter registration data with a state or federal database that maintains information regarding the citizenship of persons residing in this state. Oklahoma is authorized to use the SAVE system and driver license and state identification records to compare with voter registration records.

In addition to the many security procedures in place, candidate-requested recounts and post-election audits have consistently shown that Oklahoma’s voting devices accurately count ballots.

More information can be found on the State Election Board’s website under Security & Integrity.

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