AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Oklahoma on Election Day

WASHINGTON (AP) — Oklahoma voters will elect leaders for federal, state and other offices on Tuesday. Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

Polls close at 7 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. ET.

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in races for U.S. Senate, governor, U.S. House, lieutenant governor, attorney general, statewide ballot measures, state Senate, state House, insurance commissioner, corporation commissioner, labor commissioner, state superintendent of public instruction and state treasurer.

About 1.2 million votes were cast in the 2022 U.S. Senate race in Oklahoma.

About 18% of all ballots cast in Oklahoma’s 2022 election for U.S. Senate were cast early or by absentee ballot. The latest advance vote totals for Oklahoma can be found in the AP’s advance vote tracker .

Almost every county in Oklahoma is expected to release all or almost all of their results from early in-person and mail voting in the first vote update of the night, usually before any results from in-person Election Day voting are released.

The first results of the 2024 general election were reported starting at 8:07 p.m. ET on Nov. 5, seven minutes after polls closed. The state reached 50% of votes reporting at 9:06 p.m. ET, and 90% of votes reporting at 10:18 p.m. ET.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Oklahoma does not have automatic recounts for elections involving candidates, but candidates may request and pay for one regardless of the vote margin. The state does require automatic recounts for statewide ballot questions if the margin is 0.5% or less of the total votes cast. The required margin is larger for state constitutional amendments. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/ .