Election results indicated a total voter turnout of 71.58 percent in the county. Of the 20,866 registered voters eligible to vote in the general election, 14,936 turned up at the polls.
Your TIMES reported in the 2000 general election that there was a 53.66 percent voter turnout. Of the 23,037 registered voters in the county in 2000, 12,361 cast ballots.
Sequoyah County residents overwhelmingly passed the state lottery, tribal gaming, and an amendment to the constitution declaring marriage between a man and a woman. President George W. Bush received 8,865 votes in the county, while John F. Kerry received 5,910 votes. As of press time Wednesday morning, Kerry had conceded the election, according to CNN reports.
The lottery passed with 62.28 percent of county voters saying "yes" to State Questions 705 and 706, which establish a state lottery and a lottery trust fund that earmarks proceeds for education. Statewide, the lottery passed with 64 percent of the vote, and the lottery trust passed with 68 percent.
Please see related story on State Question 712, the tribal gaming measure, in this edition of Your TIMES.
State Question 711, which defines marriage between a man and a woman, passed with 80.73 percent of the vote in the county, and passed statewide.
County residents voted against State Question 713, which calls for a four cent tax per cigarette, but the majority ruled across the state, and the measure passed with 53 percent of the vote. Beginning Jan. 1, smokers will pay about 55 cents more for a pack of cigarettes.
County voters showed their support for U.S. Rep. Brad Carson (D-Claremore) who was running for the U.S. Senate seat, but the support he received in the 2nd Congressional District wasn't strong enough to overcome former U.S. Rep. Tom Coburn, Republican from Muskogee. Carson received 7,700 voters in the county, while Coburn received 6,468. Sheila Bilyeu, an Independent candidate, received 413 votes. Across the state, Coburn received 736,189 votes, Carson received 572,732 votes, and Bilyeu received 84,227 votes.
For the 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, State Rep. Dan Boren (D-Paden) was overwhelmingly the victor. Boren was up against Wayland Smalley, Republican, of Chelsea, for the seat being vacated by Congressman Brad Carson. Boren received 65.04 percent of the county vote, while Smalley received 34.96 percent.
Kathy Webb, election board secretary, said Tuesday that over 830 in-house absentee voters cast their ballots Friday, Saturday, and Monday. She said they have seen an increase from every election they've ever had, according to other election board employees.
The largest voter turnout was reported to be in Akins, with 76 percent of their voters going to the polls. Cindy Hyde, election board assistant secretary, said of the 402 voters in Akins, 307 turned out for the election. "That's unbelievable," she said.
Webb said she didn't know the reason behind the large voter turnout, but she said many people were interested in the presidential election. Hyde speculated that the lottery, tribal gaming, and definition of marriage were the reasons behind the high numbers.
The Roland Nutrition Center precinct had almost 600 voters as of 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, Charlie Day, precinct inspector, said.
Day said normally during elections they only have about a 20 percent turnout. He said the voters experienced long lines until 12:30 p.m. when the crowd started thinning out.
Day speculated late Tuesday afternoon that there would be over a 60 percent turnout, and he was right. Election officials said 68 percent of registered voters in that precinct showed up at the polls. At the other precinct in Roland, the Waylon Jones Complex, there was a voter turnout of 74 percent.
On the other end of the county in Gore, over 300 voters had cast their ballots as of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Gore Senior Citizens building, Wanda Wilson, precinct judge, reported.
"We've been really busy," Wilson said.
Wilson said at no point in the day had there not been a person voting.
"We're having a real good turnout," Wilson said.
Election officials said of the 718 registered voters in that precinct, 455 came to the polls for a total of voter turnout 63 percent.
Wilson said they had voters ready to cast ballots at 7 a.m., when the doors opened.
Election officials at the Tommie Spear Middle School precinct in Sallisaw, the largest precinct in the county, reported that they had over 100 voters by 8 a.m. Election results reveal that 53 percent of the voters in that precinct turned out for the election.
At Gans City Hall, voting precinct officials reported that 153 voters had cast their ballots at 10:15 a.m. Precinct officials said usually they only have about 50 people vote. Of the 605 voters in Gans, 411 cast ballots, which is a 68 percent voter turnout.
In Marble City, Hyde said the precinct inspector said the highest number of voters Marble City has ever had was 178. This year's general election brought 361 voters to the polls, for a total of 62 percent voter turnout.
"They were just amazed," Hyde said.
In Liberty, north of Roland, 75 percent of voters turned out for the election. Of the 588 registered in Liberty, 439 cast their ballots.
"Our precinct officials did a fantastic job," Hyde said. "We were pleased."
