Texas Sends Delayed Voter Records to Counties

Texas officials say an error in the Department of Public Safety’s online system prevented some voter-registration records from reaching county election offices, creating a backlog less than two weeks before the October 5 registration deadline. The state said it identified affected records and began sending them to counties overnight Tuesday, but has not disclosed how many voters were affected. The incomplete records came from transactions through the DPS online portal, which Texans can use to register while renewing a driver’s license or state identification card or updating an address. State officials said the records were not transmitted because they were marked incomplete. They have not explained what information was missing, what caused the problem or when it began. County offices must process the delayed records and check whether voters later submitted newer registration information. The state said it can identify newer information for counties that work directly in Texas’ voter registration system and withhold older records in those cases. Counties using separate registration software will receive the affected records and must check for later updates themselves.