Election Board completes move into new location
Mar. 20—Some unpacking and filing remains to be finished, but the Pittsburg County Election Board is now moved into its new location.
The new site at 7 E. Chickasaw Ave. will make the County Election Board more accessible for many voters, since it's only a block south of Choctaw Avenue in downtown McAlester.
Election workers and professional movers spent the past few weeks making sure everything has been moved from the Election Board's previous temporary offices on the second floor of the Southeast Expo Center.
County Election Board Clerk Peggy Arteberry said Tuesday all of the Election Board's equipment and other materials were now at the new facility at 7 E. Chickasaw Ave.
"Everything is completely over here," Arteberry said.
Those stopping by the County Election Board's new location so far have consisted mostly of those wanting to register to vote or to change their voter registration.
"A lot of people have been coming in," Arteberry said.
On Tuesday, Arteberry, along with part-time Election Board employees Shirley Greenmyer and Pat Boucher, worked to get things ready for the upcoming April elections.
Arteberry said she liked the new location.
"I love having sunshine and windows," she said.
The move to the Southeast Expo Center occurred in 2023, after the Election Board office in the Pittsburg County Courthouse Annex repeatedly flooded.
Pittsburg County commissioners decided to temporarily move the County Election Board to the second floor of the Expo Center while they considered several options.
Those included repairing the Election Board office in the Courthouse Annex and attempting to alleviate the source of the flooding.
When the commissioners considered the prices they heard as cost-prohibitive they looked at another option — the possibility of constructing a new Election Board office on county property near the Pittsburg County Justice Center, also known as the Pittsburg County Sheriff's Office.
After considering those costs, commissioners opted to rent the current building at 7 E. Chickasaw Ave. for six months, with an option to rent it another six months if the county so chooses.
