More than 500,000 Texas voter registration records and updates were delayed ahead of the midterm elections following a software update error at the Texas Department of Public Safety. The backlog prompted voting rights groups to file a lawsuit in Bexar County while county election administrators worked to clear the records before early voting.
A software update deployed by a third-party vendor on behalf of the Texas Department of Public Safety omitted three essential data fields from daily online driver’s license and identification card transactions, preventing voter registration applications from reaching county registrars. The state discovered the glitch in late August and reported it corrected on September 13, but the resulting backlog left hundreds of thousands of files lingering for months as the state’s October 5 registration deadline approached.
County Election Administrators Scramble to Clear Backlogs Before Early Voting
Across Texas, local election offices rushed to process the influx of delayed files alongside a routine surge of new applications. In Travis County, voter registrar Celia Israel reported that her staff processed more than 35,000 delayed records sent over by the state (Travis County clears backlog of 35,000 delayed voter records).
If I were in charge of DPS, I would’ve had a press conference to acknowledge the mistake, own up to it, pull off the band-aid, and apologize and say we’re going to do better.
Celia Israel, Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar, via Austin American-Statesman
In Denton County, election officials worked through approximately 42,300 backlogged files, while Gregg County managed 346 pending applications. Lubbock County faced roughly 8,000 affected records, with Elections Administrator Troy Havard informing commissioners that about 1,000 files remained unprocessed just one week before early voting (Lubbock County still processing 1,000 voter records after DPS software failure affects more than 8000). To help offset the burden, the Texas Secretary of State’s Office announced grant assistance on September 25 to cover overtime and temporary staffing expenses incurred by counties.
Voting Rights Organizations File Lawsuit Over Settlement Agreement Breaches
Frustrated by months of delays and administrative strain, voting rights groups took legal action against the state. The League of Women Voters of Texas and the MOVE Texas Civic Fund filed a lawsuit in Bexar County District Court, alleging that the state violated a 2021 settlement agreement that required Texas to maintain a functional online voter registration portal through DPS (Texas sued for failing to process more than 500,000 voter registrations). Represented by the Texas Civil Rights Project, the plaintiffs asked a judge to enforce compliance, require documentation of registration failures, and ensure that eligible citizens who updated their driver’s licenses online can cast regular ballots.
Prior to the lawsuit, a coalition including the NAACP, the NAACP Texas State Conference, and the Texas League of United Latin American Citizens issued a formal notice to Texas Secretary of State Robert S. Howden, alleging violations of the National Voter Registration Act (NAACP, Voting Rights Groups Demand Texas Correct Motor Voter Registration Failures Before November Election).
Texans who registered or updated their information through DPS did exactly what the law asked of them, and they should not pay the price for the state’s programming failures.
Juan Proaño, LULAC, via NAACP
Secretary of State Office Confirms Backlogs Cleared Ahead of November 3 Election
Despite the widespread scramble, state election officials reported that local offices successfully tackled the volume. Alicia Pierce, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, confirmed that Texas counties had worked diligently through the records and that the agency was unaware of any remaining pending applications related to the DPS error (Texas election officials have processed hundreds of thousands of voter registrations caught in state error).
If that means long nights and working weekends, county election officials are not going to fail the voters of Texas.
Kristin Miles, president of the election officials’ association and Bastrop County election administrator, via Votebeat
State election officials maintained that eligible residents whose registration applications were delayed by the state’s software malfunction remain qualified to vote. Under Texas election law, voters whose timely submissions do not immediately appear on precinct rolls may cast provisional ballots subject to subsequent verification, ensuring that transactions completed via the DPS portal before the October deadline are honored.
A Texas Department of Public Safety error means about 11 months’ worth of voter registration applications were never sent to county election officials, creating a severe backlog less than two weeks before the November midterm deadline. https://t.co/9FUy8DA9ry
