Texas County Early Voting Continues Friday Ahead of April 7 Election

The seat representing Ward 2 on the Guymon City Council will go to either Anahi Gutierrez or Garrett Helton after Tuesday's ballot is counted, with both candidates running without party labels in one of the most direct decisions Texas County voters will make about who governs the Oklahoma Panhandle's largest city. Early voting is open Friday, April 3, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the county election board office in Guymon, the last opportunity before Election Day polling hours begin at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

City council members set Guymon's municipal budget, vote on local ordinances, and make spending decisions on roads, utilities, and public services for a city of nearly 13,000 people. That city grew 13.3 percent between 2010 and 2020 — from 11,442 to 12,965 residents — putting new pressure on infrastructure and services that Ward 2's next representative will help fund and prioritize. The council also governs an economy built on cattle feedlots, corporate pork farms, and natural gas production, where city policy touches the daily operations of major local employers.

Also on the April 7 ballot is the Town of Hardesty Board of Trustees, part of Oklahoma's statewide Board of Education General Election and Special Elections cycle.

Texas County Election Board Secretary Margo Thompson handles the full administrative chain: printing and testing ballots, appointing and training precinct workers, and certifying the final vote count. The bipartisan board, which includes Republican Chair Cory Winters and Democratic Chair Dasha Smith, prints all election materials in both English and Spanish. That accommodation reflects the county's demographics directly — at 50.6 percent Hispanic, Texas County is the only Hispanic-majority county in Oklahoma, and Guymon itself has held that distinction as a Hispanic-majority city in both the 2010 and 2020 censuses.

On Election Day, polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at regular precinct locations throughout Guymon. Oklahoma requires proof of identity: a government-issued photo ID or a county election board voter identification card satisfies the requirement. Voters without qualifying identification can cast a provisional ballot by signing a sworn affidavit, which election officials review after polls close. Voters unsure of their registration status or polling location can check both through the OK Voter Portal on the Oklahoma State Election Board's website, or call the Texas County Election Board directly at (580) 338-7644.

Oklahoma law requires no excuse to vote early, meaning any registered voter can walk into the election board office Friday and cast an in-person absentee ballot. In a county with a median resident age of 30.9, off-cycle municipal races like this one historically draw thin turnout — the kind where a single precinct's participation can flip an outcome. The Ward 2 winner will represent a ward in a city where the median household income is $57,051 and decisions made at the council table have immediate consequences for the neighborhoods that make up it.