Texas Democratic Party Demands Answers as Secretary of State Delays Release of Voter Registration Records

On September 28, the Democratic National Committee and the Texas Democratic Party requested records from the Texas Secretary of State concerning the DPS voter registration backlog, including how many applications were affected, when the Secretary of State learned of the problem, what caused it, communications between the state, DPS, Civix (the vendor behind the state’s voter file system) and county officials, and what steps are being taken to help affected voters ahead of the November election. On October 13, the Secretary of State’s Office finally responded. Not with the requested records, but by saying the office needs additional time to determine the cost of producing them. The Secretary’s Office says it will provide that estimate by October 27, when early voting will be nearly over. And even then, we still won’t know when (or even if) the records will be produced.

The Secretary of State should already have these records. These are basic questions about the state’s voter registration system and the administration of an election that is already underway. After the state’s failures left more than 500,000 voter registration records caught in a backlog, county election officials stepped up, working long hours and weekends to clean up the mess and ensure eligible voters could be registered. Texans continue to be  forced to wait weeks longer for information about a problem that has already created a significant burden for local election officials, campaigns, and voters. The continued delay raises questions: Does Texas have the information it should have? Why is it taking so long to provide it? Texas voters deserve transparency now, not after early voting is nearly over and not after Election Day.