Texas counties are processing a voter-registration backlog after a state system error; Bexar County received about 45,000 applications. Officials say unprocessed records may have kept some people from voting in March’s primary; counties have until Oct. 19.
The problem began last October in the Texas Department of Public Safety system, which lets people register or update their registration while renewing a driver’s license. An unspecified error kept many records from reaching counties; DPS said some online records were incomplete and not fully transmitted to the secretary of state’s office. The department said the issue was resolved but did not explain it. County officials said DPS had not told them why the backlog occurred or why they were not informed for nearly a year.
State and county election officials said voters do not need to worry about their registration if it is submitted by Oct. 5. Voters can check their status on the state’s online registration site or call their county election office; people whose names are missing from the voter rolls can cast provisional ballots.
