From FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth · Steven Dial · · 2m
Texas DPS error leaves 40,000 voter registrations stuck
A Department of Public Safety mistake created an 11-month backlog of unprocessed applications just before the midterm registration deadline.
In brief
A Department of Public Safety mistake created an 11-month backlog of unprocessed applications just before the midterm registration deadline. Tens of thousands of Texas voter registration applications weren't forwarded to county election offices, but the state says affected voters can still cast provisional ballots and…
DPS fails to forward voter applications
The Texas Department of Public Safety didn't send voter registration applications to county election offices, creating an 11-month backlog. The error was discovered less than two weeks before the midterm registration deadline.
Dallas County alone has 40,000 delayed records
Dallas County reports roughly 40,000 unprocessed voter registration applications. Other counties report delays ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand records dating back to October.
Applications just sent to counties this week
State officials started forwarding the backlogged applications to county voting offices on Tuesday night, giving election workers less than two weeks to process them before the registration deadline.
Registrations will be backdated to original date
The Secretary of State's Office said all backlogged applications will be effective on their original submission date. Affected voters can cast a provisional ballot on election day if they're not yet on the voter rolls.
“the effective date of all the backlog applications will be the day of the DPS transaction”
Election officials express confidence in workarounds
Collin County's elections administrator says poll book updates can happen even during voting, ensuring eligible voters get ballots. Election officials recommend submitting a duplicate application in person if you're unsure about your registration status.
“I'm 100 percent confident that any voter who's eligible to vote in the November ballot will receive a ballot”
Democrats call it part of a larger pattern
The Texas Democratic Party says this is not the first problem with the Secretary of State's voter registration system, which has faced documented failures for months. They're demanding answers about the total number of affected applications.
“This is not the first warning sign”
Total number of affected applications still unknown
The Texas Association of County Election Officials is still collecting information from members to determine the full scale of the problem. State officials have not yet released a statewide total of unprocessed applications.
The short version
Tens of thousands of Texas voter registration applications weren't forwarded to county election offices, but the state says affected voters can still cast provisional ballots and their registrations will be backdated to their original submission date.
