An error at the Texas Department of Public Safety left an unknown number of voter registration applications unprocessed just weeks before the November midterm election, creating a backlog for county election offices across the state.
The affected applications were submitted through the DPS online portal but were not forwarded to county voter registrars because some records were incomplete, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s Office. State officials began sending the backlogged records to counties Tuesday night, less than two weeks before the October 5 voter registration deadline.
Counties Face Sudden Registration Backlog
State officials have not said how many voters were affected, what information was missing from the records, or exactly when the problem began.
The Texas Association of County Election Officials is gathering information from election administrators across the state to determine the scope of the issue. The sudden arrival of older applications is expected to add work for county offices during one of the busiest periods of the election calendar.
Some of the affected records reportedly date back months. Dallas County has about 40,000 records awaiting processing, while other counties have reported backlogs ranging from several hundred to several thousand applications.
The DPS portal is an important registration channel for Texans who renew or update their driver’s licenses or state identification cards online. From 2020 through 2024, about 6 million Texans used the portal to register to vote, DPS officials told state lawmakers in 2025.
Texas does not have universal online voter registration. However, eligible Texans conducting certain transactions through the DPS online portal have been able to register to vote through the system since 2020.
State Says Affected Voters Can Still Vote
The Secretary of State’s Office said the delayed processing will not change the effective registration date for voters who completed a qualifying DPS transaction by the October 5 deadline.
The registration date for an affected application will be the date of the original DPS transaction. That means a voter whose qualifying transaction occurred on or before October 5 can be registered in time for the November 3 election even if the application is processed later.
Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office, said voters who completed registration through DPS but do not appear on the voter rolls can cast provisional ballots.
Election officials have a process for checking the original DPS transaction. If the records show that the voter completed the registration process, the provisional ballot will be counted, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Counties Must Review Older Records
The state has identified the affected records and is working with DPS to prevent the problem from affecting future daily registration files, according to Christina Adkins, the state elections director.
Counties must also make sure that older DPS records do not overwrite more recent registration information submitted by the same voters.
For counties that work directly in the state’s TEAM voter registration system, state officials said they can identify voters who have submitted newer information and withhold the older DPS record.
The process is more complicated for counties that use separate voter registration software. Those counties will receive the affected records and must determine whether voters later submitted updated registration information. The state said it will send the records in batches and coordinate with county vendors.
The incident comes as county officials continue to work with Texas’ recently updated TEAM voter registration system. County election administrators previously reported problems with registration processing and other functions after the system was overhauled in 2025.
Scope of Problem Remains Unknown
The number of affected voters remains unclear.
The Secretary of State’s Office said it identified the records that were not transmitted to counties, but officials have not publicly disclosed the total number. The Texas Association of County Election Officials is collecting information from all 254 counties to determine the extent of the backlog.
The immediate impact on voters is expected to depend on when their DPS transactions occurred and whether their registration information has already been processed through another channel.
With the October 5 deadline approaching, election officials are urging Texans to verify their registration status and address before the deadline rather than waiting until Election Day.
