Federal Court Dismisses Texas Voter Registration Lawsuit

A federal court in San Antonio dismissed a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens against Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Freeman F. Martin. The plaintiffs alleged that state officials violated the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 by delaying the processing of more than 500,000 voter registration applications until late September 2026. They further claimed a technical error left 15,000 registrations unprocessed by October 16, just before early voting began.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, representing the plaintiffs, sought records to identify affected voters to ensure their rights were protected. However, the court dismissed the case without prejudice, citing a lack of standing. The Southern Poverty Law Center expressed disappointment, stating the court dismissed the harm caused by the state's withholding of registration records.

Assistant Secretary of State Alicia Pierce and the Texas Secretary of State's office denied that any applications remained pending by the start of early voting. Pierce stated that voters who registered through the Department of Public Safety could have their votes counted and noted that election officials have established methods to verify those transactions. State officials maintained that any voters missing from the rolls could utilize provisional ballots.