Hearing set for today in House 68 voting problem

Troy Zickefoose (Dem), of Sand Springs, claims eight voters were not qualified to vote in last week's primary. He said seven don't live at the address listed on voting information and one address is a vacant lot.

A court hearing is set for today (Aug 4, 2010) in Tulsa County to hear the voting irregularity allegations in the Tulsa area House District 68 Democratic primary. Troy Zickefoose, who lost by four votes in the race, claims one voter who is shown to have cast a ballot is deceased.

If a judge decides to uphold the House election results, state Election Board members will certify the results next week.

The judge can throw out the results and order a special election if it's determined enough invalid votes were cast to alter last week's results. The special election would be scheduled after the Nov. 2 general election because state law does not allow elections to be held in September or October

A manual recounts Tuesday of Tulsa County and Creek County precincts resulted in Zickefoose and Seth Watkins, of Tulsa, each picking up one vote, leaving Watkins with a four-vote victory, 863-859.

Glen Mulready, of Tulsa, won last week's House District 68 Republican primary election. The incumbent, House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, could not seek re-election because of term limits.