Liz Gray/Managing Editor
OKMULGEE, Oklahoma – The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Supreme Court issued a notice to the MCN Election Board for a recount of votes cast in the 2021 MCN Primary Election.
Petitioner and Okmulgee District candidate Lanissa Jack Melton requested a recount of absentee and Okmulgee District ballots submitted in the primary election.
A quorum of Supreme Court Justices will be present at the recount as required by law, which will take place on Thursday, Sept. 30 beginning at 10 a.m. CST.
The recount will be conducted at the Mound Auditorium in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
Pursuant to Title 19 subsection 8-203, “the actual recount of ballots shall be conducted by the Precinct Election Committee or the precinct workers and/or the absentee workers designated by the Manager of the Election Board.”
A petition has also been filed in MCN District Court by McIntosh District incumbent Adam Jones III.
In a letter addressed to the MCN Election Board Chairman, Jones claims there were irregularity in the ballots cast at the Okmulgee Precinct Office during the Sept. 18 election.
“Particularly, in-person ballots cast by appointed members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Election Board,” Jones stated in the letter which included the Chairman themselves.
“After they learned their absentee ballots were not received by the Okmulgee Post Office by 11:00 (a.m.) and, therefore, not counted. This action is highly irregular, because there are egress and regress rules related to the counting room, which watchers report were not adhered to by Board members.”
Jones claims the actions of the board members did not maintain uniformity, nor did they promote and encourage voter registration because the Election Board did not extend the same courtesy to other absentee voters.
Jones closes the letter by asking the Election Board to consider revision of rules and regulations to extend the same offer to absentee ballot voters before certifying the results of the elections, as well as notify all absentee ballot voters whether or not their vote was counted in the election.
MCN District Court will hear the case on Friday, Oct. 1 at 9 a.m. via video.
This is a developing story, Mvskoke Media will have updates as they become available.
