Texas Voter Registration Backlog Hits Counties Ahead of October Deadline

Tens of thousands of Texas voter registration applications and updates, some dating back to October 2025, went unprocessed after a Texas Department of Public Safety system error kept records submitted through its online driver's license portal from reaching county election officials.

The backlog is hitting counties less than two weeks before the October 5 voter registration deadline.

DPS said the "system issue has been resolved" and that it worked with the Secretary of State's Office to identify incomplete records and backfill missing information. The state began sending delayed records to counties, but officials have not disclosed the full scope or cause of the problem.

In Collin County, officials received more than 40,000 additional records, while Travis County received approximately 32,000 applications overnight, bringing its total to about 35,000 records to process. Election officials said some records may be duplicates or updates, not new registrations.

Terri Burke, executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, called on the state to provide counties with additional resources to handle the backlog.

"Texas county election officials should not be left to absorb the consequences of a state-level failure on their own," said Burke. "County clerks and elections administrators in communities across every corner of Texas are now being forced to clean up DPS's mess, working around the clock to process records that should have reached them months ago."

Burke urged Governor Greg Abbott (R), DPS, and the Secretary of State to provide staffing, technical support, and other resources to ensure the records are processed before the deadline.

State Rep. John Bucy (D) also called on Abbott to provide whatever resources counties need, saying officials are being asked to process the backlog during one of the busiest periods of the election calendar.

State officials said voters affected by the error can still request a provisional ballot, which will be counted if officials confirm the voter registered through DPS by the applicable deadline.