Bice campaign offers help with mail-in ballots

State Sen. Stephanie Bice has offered to help Republican voters use the mail- in ballot option in her congressional runoff election, even as President Donald Trump slams voting by mail as vulnerable to fraud.

In a recent mailer sent to registered Republicans in the 5th Congressional District, t he Bice campaign outlines the process for voting absentee by mail and offers to notarize ballots or photocopy identification to accompany ballots.

Bice Bice is facing Terry Ne e se in the Aug .25 runoff, which will determine the GOP opponent f or Rep. Kendra Horn, D-Oklahoma City.

“We are encouraging all of our supporters to vote in the legal manner that best meets their needs,” said Penny Seale, spokeswoman for the Bice campaign.

“In the runoff and again in November, Republicans should do everything we can to ensure that every conservative and supporter of President Trump casts a ballot.”

Oklahoma typically requires absentee ballots cast by mail be notarized. That requirement was relaxed for the June 30 primary by the state Legislature and Gov. Kevin Stitt to allow voters to mail in a copy of their driver's license or other acceptable form of identification with their ballots.

The photocopy option also exists for the runoff “due to the governor' s COVID-19 state of emergency that was in effect 45 days prior to the Runoff Primary Election,” according to the state Election Board.

Before the primary, Horn sent prepaid envelopes to registered Democrats and independents who had requested absentee ballots to encourage voters to mail them in.

Nearly 100,000 mailin absentee ballots were returned before the June 30 primary, a record.

Trump has spoken out numerous times against voting by mail, claiming it increases the chance of fraud, though he has not presented evidence of that. The Trump campaign, along with the national and Nevada Republican party organizations filed suit this week to block legislation calling for all registered voters to receive a mail-in ballot because of the pandemic.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday that Nevada did not require a voter signature verifying the ballot and that there was not enough time for Nevada to conduct the election well by mail.

Sea le, with the B ice campaign, said the campaign is not worried about an increased risk of fraud in the runoff under the relaxed requirements.

“Oklahoma has one of the most secure ballot return processes in the country and we have full confidence in the Oklahoma State Election Board,” she said.

“We encourage every Republican to cast a ballot in the runoff for Stephanie Bice in whatever legal way is best for them.”

Runoff primaries typically have relatively low turn out. There are no statewide questions or races on the Aug. 25 ballot.