A Texas Department of Public Safety error has left tens of thousands of voter registration applications and updates waiting to be processed, creating a last-minute workload for county election officials ahead of the November midterm election.

The problem involves voter registration records submitted through DPS online services that were not transmitted to county voter registrars. The Texas Secretary of State’s Office said certain DPS transactions produced incomplete voter registration records, preventing those files from being sent to counties for review. State officials began transmitting the affected records to counties Tuesday night.

The timing is less than ideal for local election offices. Texans have until Oct. 5 to register for the Nov. 3 election, leaving counties to work through the unexpected backlog while also handling the usual surge of registrations that comes before the deadline.

Tens of thousands of records affected

Exactly how many voter records are involved remains unclear.

The Texas Association of County Election Officials is gathering information from counties to determine the scope of the problem. Chris McGinn, the association's executive director, said Wednesday that counties were reporting anywhere from hundreds of affected records in smaller counties to tens of thousands in some of the state's largest counties. Some records date back as far as October 2025.

Dallas County alone reportedly has roughly 40,000 records to process. Other counties have reported totals ranging from several hundred to several thousand.

State officials have not publicly disclosed a statewide total or explained exactly what information was missing from the affected records. DPS also has not publicly detailed what caused the problem.

The issue is significant because DPS online services have become an important route for voter registration in Texas.

Texas does not offer universal online voter registration. But since 2020, eligible Texans renewing or updating their driver's license or state identification card online have been able to register to vote through the DPS system. About 6 million Texans used that option between 2020 and 2024, according to DPS testimony provided to state lawmakers last year.

State says registration dates will be preserved

Despite the backlog, the Secretary of State's Office says voters who properly registered through DPS should not lose their eligibility because of the state's processing problem.

The effective registration date will be based on the date of the original DPS transaction rather than when the county eventually processes the record. That means an eligible voter who completes the qualifying DPS transaction by Oct. 5 can still be registered in time for the Nov. 3 election.

There is also a safeguard for affected voters who arrive at the polls and discover their names are not on the voter rolls.

“A voter who registered through DPS online services but does not appear on the rolls can cast a provisional ballot,” Secretary of State spokesperson Alicia Pierce told Votebeat. “Election officials have an established method with DPS to check the transaction. If that voter did register, the provisional vote will be counted.”

Counties have another problem to solve

Processing the backlog isn't simply a matter of adding thousands of old records to the voter rolls.

Election officials also have to make sure an older DPS record doesn't replace newer information a voter submitted through another registration method.

For counties working directly through the state's TEAM voter registration system, state officials said they can identify voters who have more recent registration updates and withhold the older DPS records.

The situation is more complicated for counties using separate voter registration software. Those counties will have to review the records to determine whether affected voters subsequently submitted newer information. The Secretary of State's Office said records will be delivered in batches and that it will work with counties and their software vendors.

The DPS problem also arrives as election officials continue dealing with issues involving TEAM. Earlier this month, the Secretary of State's Office acknowledged problems including some voter records not appearing properly in searches and difficulties for certain voters attempting to update addresses through the state's online application.

On Sept. 16, state Elections Director Christina Adkins notified county officials that older DPS registrations had begun appearing in TEAM and said officials were investigating where the historical records came from.

Full scope still isn't known

For now, one of the biggest unanswered questions is just how many Texans were caught in the DPS error.

The state says it has identified the affected records, but a statewide number has not been released. With reports continuing to come in from counties, the final total could take time to determine.

For voters, the practical takeaway is simpler: Texans who recently registered or updated their registration through DPS can check their status before the Oct. 5 deadline. If an affected voter does not appear on the rolls on Election Day, state officials say the provisional ballot process provides a way to verify the original DPS transaction and count the ballot if the voter registered in time.