The primary election for mayor of Oklahoma City will be held on Feb. 13. Candidates David Holt, Taylor Neighbors and Randall Smith are on the ballot.
All Oklahoma City voters registered by Jan.19 are eligible to vote.
Some city residents are assigned a postal address, school district or zip code outside of Oklahoma City, but are still eligible to vote for mayor.
“I think a lot more people are eligible to vote in this election than really realize it. Most people, if they go out and look at their trash can, then if it says the City of Oklahoma City, then they live in the city,” said city spokeswoman Kristy Yager.
Residents can check whether they live in Oklahoma City on the city website.
Voters can view sample ballots, check their registrations and find their polling places on the Oklahoma State Election Board website.
If one candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote on Tuesday’s primary, he or she will be declared the winner, according to the city. If no candidate receives more than half of the vote, a runoff election with the top two candidates will be held on April 3. The winner will be sworn in on April 10.
The Oklahoma City mayorship is a nonpartisan position with a four-year term and a yearly salary of $24,000. Current Mayor Mick Cornett is running for Oklahoma governor, and will not be seeking re-election as mayor. Cornett is currently serving his fourth term as mayor, and was first elected in 2004. He is the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history.
State Sen. David Holt was the first to file for candidacy last February. He served as Cornett’s chief of staff for five years and has represented northwest Oklahoma City in the state Senate for seven years. Holt has received endorsements from hundreds of community leaders and elected officials, according to his website.
Taylor Neighbors, a 21-year-old undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma, is also running. On her Facebook page, Neighbors says her goal is to “give the people a higher standard.”
Candidate Randall Smith told Newsok.com he would not be campaigning, but filed for office to encourage discussion.
Other elections in Oklahoma County on Feb. 13 include school board races in Piedmont, Deer Creek, Edmond, Western Heights, Oklahoma City and McCloud. There are also city council races in Yukon, Norman and Midwest City.
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