On Election Day 2024, there will be a total of 11 Osage Nation Congressional candidate campsites at the government campus park where voters and families can enjoy fellowship and food provided by the candidates themselves.
The day-long Osage Election Day campsite tradition continues where candidates will greet, as well as provide food, refreshments and fellowship to voters coming to Pawhuska to mark their ballots, as well as await the results announced after the polling places close and the ballot counting process is completed in each respective election.
There are 16 certified candidates on the 2024 General Election ballot and voters will have June 3 Election Day to select up to six candidates. In-person voting is at the Pawhuska Osage Hotel & Casino from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Three candidates will not have campsites with two hosting their own campaign events off-campus in Pawhuska on Election Day.
On May 31, candidate Patrick Cullen-Carroll announced on social media that he will not be in Pawhuska for Election Day activities. “Very sad to announce I will not be at Election Camp this weekend and Monday. I also will miss the Dances next weekend which is a ceremony I truly love attending. My wife had shoulder replacement surgery recently and her recovery is not at a place where I feel I can leave. I made the decision this morning to stay and continue her care. I hope all will understand. I wish all the candidates luck and support and I will always continue my love and support for all Osage People,” Cullen-Carroll wrote.
At the campsites, the candidates will share their campaigns and create their own spaces with food and refreshments provided to voters and families that will come and go throughout the day.
Candidate Alexis Martin, who won’t have a campsite, said: “I will be at work Monday serving our people (at the ON Counseling Center) but I’ll be up on campus at lunchtime.”
Candidates William Kemble and Pam Shaw announced on social media they will have their own Election Day events.
Kemble said he is hosting a Watch Party at the Pawhuska Community Center, at the intersection of Main Street and Lynn Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Shaw is hosting an Election Day lunch at the recently-opened and Osage-owned Saucy Calf restaurant on Main Street from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The remaining candidates participated in a campsite drawing conducted by the Wahzhazhe Elections Office earlier this year and will be at the campus park located across the service road from the ON Museum, Chambers Building and Wahzhazhe Health Center. Those candidates include John Maker and Joe Tillman (both are sharing a campsite), Brooklin Sweezy, Liberty Metcalf, Jodie Revard, Christa Fulkerson, Jacque Jones, Maria Whitehorn, Billy Keene, Angela Pratt, Traci Phillips and Tina Allen.
Once the election poll closes and the ballot counting is complete, election officials will come to the campus and announce the election results in front of the Chambers Building under the portico.