Texas officials said a software problem that held up nearly 600,000 voter registration applications has been corrected, but county election offices are now dealing with a second error affecting roughly 15,000 more registrations, according to a report from The Texas Tribune. The delays affect Texans who register to vote or update their registration while getting or renewing a driver's license, a process the state is required to support under the National Voter Registration Act.
The secretary of state's office told media this week that the delayed applications had been sent to voters' home districts and that the original problem was resolved. A spokesperson said anyone still affected can file a provisional ballot as a safeguard. The state has not detailed the technical cause; the issue was first described as a computer glitch and later as a programming error introduced in a software update to the Department of Public Safety's driver's license online portal.
The backlog, which reportedly began building a year ago, is the subject of a lawsuit filed in Bexar County by the League of Women Voters Texas and MOVE Texas Civic Fund. The suit names Secretary of State Robert S. Howden and his office, along with the Department of Public Safety and its director, Freeman F. Martin. The groups characterize the delays as part of a pattern of voter suppression that has disenfranchised Texans, and argue the state violated the safeguards won in a suit five years ago that forced compliance with the National Voter Registration Act.
Chris McGinn, executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials, told the Tribune that counties were just beginning to see progress when the new backlog arrived. Election officials are working to resolve the additional registration issues before early voting starts in Texas on Oct. 19.
The registration problems are drawing attention amid a competitive midterm season in a state that has long voted reliably Republican. Polls show several Republican candidates trailing Democratic challengers, including the US Senate race between Attorney General Ken Paxton and State Representative James Talarico. Elon Musk has spent nearly $160 million backing Republican candidates in the state, and the heavy spending and uncertain outcomes have increased scrutiny of potential voter suppression.
Representatives from the secretary of state's office and the Department of Public Safety did not immediately return requests for comment.
More software news from TechManNews.
