Sequoyah Public Schools, Okla., to hold redo election after discovery of irregular votes

Voters in Oklahoma’s Sequoyah Public Schools will see a court-ordered redo election on their ballots on Aug. 27 after the discovery of irregularities in a close race from last spring.

Greg Perry and Lyndsey Young ran in a special general election for the Office 2 seat on April 2, Oklahoma’s statewide school board general election date.

Perry received 225 votes to Young’s 222, a three-vote margin.

After reviewing the registries, Young challenged the results, which revealed 10 irregular votes due to a mixture of out-of-district voters and one person voting twice.

On April 11, District Court Judge Lara Russell upheld Young’s challenge. Election officials sent a letter to Governor Kevin Sitt the following day requesting a new election be held on Aug. 27.

In her order, Judge Russell cited a 1991 Oklahoma Supreme Court case Jackson v. Maley, which establishes that a court may order a redo election if the number of irregular votes is larger than the margin of victory.

But these were not the only April 2 called into question. Zane James challenged the results in the district’s Office 4 race after losing to incumbent Jeff Radley by 15 votes.

James cited the same irregularities, but in this case, that number was less than the margin of victory, resulting in the case’s dismissal.

Usually, states or courts only call for a redo election if the number of ballots affected is large enough to change the outcome of the election.

Other reasons include electoral fraud, natural disasters, or issues with voting technology.

While rare, most redo elections take place at the municipal or county level. There have been only two congressional redo elections in the last 50 years.