More than 178,000 voter registration records were confirmed unprocessed across seven Texas counties as of Friday, Sept. 25, according to Votebeat and Houston Public Media, and several more counties, including Bexar County, home to San Antonio, have confirmed backlogs of their own beyond that count. The deadline to register for the Nov. 3 general election is Monday, Oct. 5.

The backlog is far larger than first reported. As we reported Sept. 24, a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) software error prevented voter registration records from reaching county election offices. Officials in seven of the state's 254 counties have now confirmed receiving a combined 178,000-plus records, Votebeat and Houston Public Media reported Friday.

Harris County's exact backlog total has not been released. Chris McGinn, executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials, told KHOU 11 on Sept. 23 he would not be surprised if it exceeded 100,000 records. He cautioned that many records may not require changes. Historically, 30% to 40% of DPS registration records processed by counties need no update, McGinn said.

That uncertainty matters for residents in Webster, Seabrook and Nassau Bay, which fall under Harris County elections. Friendswood, which spans both Galveston and Harris counties, and Clear Lake Shores, in Galveston County, face a similar gap: no Galveston County backlog figure has been confirmed.

What happened

A third-party vendor that handles DPS's batch data updated its software in October 2025, cutting off portions of voter registration records, according to KTSM. The incomplete files could not be processed by the Secretary of State's office. DPS identified the problem in late August 2026, resolved it Sept. 13 and resent corrected files. The Secretary of State confirmed receipt Sept. 18.

The affected records were submitted through DPS's online driver's license portal, the only way Texans can update voter registration online. The records could include new registrations or address changes. It remains unclear how many are new registrations versus updates, or whether the error prevented anyone from voting in the March 2026 primary.

County-by-county numbers

Among the confirmed totals reported by Votebeat: Dallas County received more than 68,000 records. Williamson County has 18,000. Lubbock County confirmed 7,400. Hays County received 8,200. Cameron County confirmed 4,500.

Additional counties reported by KTSM and ABC13 bring the list further. Collin County received at least 40,000. Montgomery County confirmed about 34,780. Travis County received roughly 35,000. Brazoria County has over 9,000. Gregg County reported about 8,000. Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, received more than 45,000 records overnight, according to Texas Public Radio and KENS5.

Collin County Elections Administrator Kaleb Breaux told Votebeat the backlogged files crashed his voter registration software when his office first tried to process them. He has seven full-time registration staff and brought in 10 temporary workers since Labor Day.

State response

State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, told Votebeat on Sept. 24 that the Secretary of State's office should have caught the error because it oversees the system counties use to receive DPS files.

"If the files were received, pulled, or not, that should have been noticeable," Bettencourt said.

Gov. Greg Abbott referred questions to DPS and the Secretary of State's office, Votebeat reported.

The Secretary of State's office said all backlogged registrations will be backdated to when the request was originally submitted to DPS. Counties have until Monday, Oct. 19, when early voting begins, to finish processing the late-arriving applications.

What Clear Lake area voters should do

Voters can check their registration at VoteTexas.gov by selecting "Am I Registered?" or by contacting their county voter registrar directly. McGinn urged voters on Sept. 23 to check both the state site and their local jurisdiction's records before the Monday, Oct. 5 deadline.

Voters who registered through DPS but do not appear on the rolls can cast a provisional ballot, according to Alicia Pierce, a Secretary of State's office spokesperson. Election officials can verify the DPS transaction, and if the voter did register, the provisional vote will count.

Early voting runs Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.