Texas election officials say a massive backlog of voter registration applications and updates has been cleared just days before in-person early voting begins, easing an immediate concern while leaving questions about how the failure happened.
The Texas Secretary of State's Office and the Texas Association of County Election Officials said they were not aware of any county still processing delayed records, according to reporting published Thursday by the Associated Press. Early voting for the November 3 general election begins Monday, October 19.
More than 500,000 records were caught in the backlog, according to the Texas Tribune and Votebeat, while a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Texas and Move Texas Civic Fund placed the total closer to 600,000. The delayed records came through the Texas Department of Public Safety's online driver's licence portal, where Texans can register while renewing a licence or changing an address. The department has attributed the problem to a software change made in October 2025, and some records went unprocessed for more than a year.
County staff spent weeks working through the files while also preparing polling places for the midterms. Officials have said voters who do not appear on the rolls because of the error can still cast a provisional ballot, which is counted once registration through the portal by the deadline is confirmed.
