The Osage Nation Election Board holds their weekly meeting Feb. 25. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News
By Shannon Shaw
Osage News
The Osage Nation Voter Registry is now ready and open to all registered Osage voters for a small fee. The list contains the addresses of those 18 and over who are eligible to vote in the June 7 election.
“The list is to be used for political purposes and not to be reproduced,” said Amber Harris, assistant election supervisor.
The registry can be purchased from the Osage Nation Election Board offices located in downtown Pawhuska at 532 Kihekah Avenue and what is known to locals as the former location of 2001 Video. A voter can request either a CD of the list or a printed copy. The CD costs $10 and the printed copy is $15. Each additional request for the registry will be $5. Forms for the registry can be found on the election board’s Web site under the information tab.
TrueBallot, Inc., selected as Election Company to run Osage elections June 7
TrueBallot, Inc., has been selected as the Election Company that will run the Osage June 7 elections for the offices of Principal Chief, Assistant Principal Chief, six members of Congress and Judicial Retention.
According to TrueBallot.com, the election company has experience in running tribal elections as well as elections for labor unions, associations, homeowners associations and cooperatives, public entities and other organizations. They are a technically savvy firm that administers elections on-site and can administer elections by mail, by web and by phone.
TrueBallot uses a patented ballot auditing system called TrueReview. This electronic ballot system displays, counts, searches, sorts and audits electronic (scanned) images of the paper ballots cast. The scanned ballots are then brought up onto a computer screen which will be connected to a projector so that the election board staff can review.
The scanned ballot images can be displayed with the running count for each candidate on one side of the screen. If the election supervisors choose, the members of the public can view a running periodic count of the election, as batches of ballots are scanned, according to TrueBallot.com.
Candidate filing deadlines approaching; Absentee ballots available
Candidates can file for their candidacies from March 15 to April 1. The cost for filing for Principal Chief is $500, for Assistant Principal Chief is $400 and to file for a seat for Congress costs $300. For candidate filing forms visit the Election Board’s Web site but candidates can’t file until the filing date.
Absentee ballot forms are available on the election board’s Web site under the information tab. A person can also obtain an absentee ballot from the election office in person, sending a letter or an electronic message to the election supervisor, or by fax.
Absentee ballots must be requested in writing 20 days before the election. In this year’s election, absentee ballot requests will not be processed after May 18.
Voters must mail their absentee ballots in a timely manner so they arrive in Pawhuska on June 7 in order to be processed. Election staffers will begin counting absentee ballots at 10 that morning.
Any person that requests an absentee ballot but instead wishes to vote in person must give the election supervisor, or authorized designee on Election Day, their unused absentee ballot and sign an affidavit stating they received an absentee ballot but did not vote with it.
All absentee ballot applications shall be processed by the election board staff, according to the Election Law.
For more information about TrueBallot, Inc., visit their Web site at www.trueballot.com.
For more information about the June 7 election, candidate filing applications, absentee ballots, call the Election Board Office at (918) 287-5286 or visit their Web site at www.osagetribe.com/electionboard/.
