Texas Hits Record 19 Million Registered Voters as Early Voting Starts Monday, After Counties Clear a Backlog Blamed on a DPS Software Error
Texas has a record 19,041,684 registered voters heading into the Nov. 3 general election, Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden announced Friday, as early voting begins Monday. The record comes after county election offices worked through a backlog of voter registration applications that state officials have blamed on a Department of Public Safety software problem.
“Texas continues to see strong voter registration numbers, and we want every eligible Texan to be prepared to participate in the upcoming election,” Howden said in a statement.
The total is 2.2% higher than for the November 2024 general election and 2% higher than for the March 2026 primary, according to the secretary of state’s office.
TEXAS EARLY VOTING DATES AND RULES
Early voting runs Monday, Oct. 19, through Friday, Oct. 30, and voters may cast ballots at any early voting location in their county of registration, the secretary of state’s office said. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Voters must bring one of seven accepted forms of photo ID, including a Texas driver license, a U.S. passport, a Texas handgun license or a U.S. military ID with a photo, according to the office. Voters who do not have and cannot reasonably get an accepted ID may be able to fill out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and show an approved supporting document.
Texas law bars electioneering within 100 feet of a polling place entrance and generally bars cellphones and recording devices within 100 feet of a voting station, the office said. The deadline for election officials to receive an application for a mail ballot is Friday, Oct. 23. Voting by mail is limited to voters who meet certain requirements, such as being 65 or older, having a disability or being out of their county during the voting period.
REGISTERED VOTERS AND THE DPS BACKLOG
At least 178,000 voter registration applications never reached county election offices because of a Texas Department of Public Safety database error, which has since been corrected, according to The Center Square, as published by Just the News. State officials and lawmakers have tied the problem to a new voter registration management system launched in July 2025, the outlet reported.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said the backlog had been cleared as of Oct. 15. “Texas counties have cleared a several hundred thousand voter registration backlog from a DPS software update error late last year through lots of catch-up work across the state,” he said, according to The Center Square. Bettencourt said Harris County alone cleared an additional 108,000 registrations sent from the secretary of state’s office.
Bettencourt said the Legislature would hold hearings into “the two Agencies’ SNAFU that caused this problem,” adding that “a vendor software update triggered the problem that does need a permanent fix by contractors and agency personnel alike.”
Voters can check their registration and find polling places at VoteTexas.gov, the state’s official election website.
Sources: Texas Secretary of State news release (Oct. 16, 2026); The Center Square, as published by Just the News (Oct. 16, 2026).
Comments