Texas counties rush to process at least 178,000 delayed voter registrations

Texas election officials are working through a backlog of at least 178,000 voter registration applications that the Department of Public Safety failed to send promptly to county registrars, according to reports from the Texas Tribune and other outlets.

The applications were submitted through DPS’s online driver’s license portal but were not transferred to counties as expected. The Texas Secretary of State’s Elections Division confirmed the problem in an email Wednesday. The delay surfaced weeks before the November midterm elections and may also have kept some residents off voter rolls during the March primary.

Some of the state’s largest counties reported tens of thousands of delayed records. Bexar County received about 45,000 applications, while Collin County was missing more than 40,000 and Travis County about 32,000. Brazoria, Hays and Cameron counties reported more than 22,000 delayed applications combined.

The records are expected to begin moving from DPS to county registrars this week. Some local election offices may hire temporary workers to process the unexpected volume while preparing for November voting.

Applications submitted by the Oct. 5 deadline will remain valid despite processing delays. A spokesperson for the secretary of state said affected voters who do not appear on registration rolls can cast provisional ballots, and election officials can verify their DPS transactions. The Texas Tribune reported that a key Republican lawmaker said the state should have detected the error sooner.