Texas Voter Registrations Hit Record 19 Million Before Midterms
Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden announced record voter registrations exceeding 19 million despite significant technical failures and federal screening errors.
Texas voter registrations reached a record high of over 19 million ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. Robert Howden, the Texas Secretary of State, reported that this figure represents a 2.2% increase from the November 2024 general election and a 7.7% increase from the 2022 midterms.
Growth was concentrated in suburban areas, with Kaufman and Waller counties seeing significant increases, while Tarrant County experienced a 2.6% decline. The record numbers occurred despite several administrative failures. A software error at the Texas Department of Public Safety left 500,000 applications unprocessed, and a separate Texas.gov error caused backlogged address updates across four counties.
Further complications arose from federal interactions. A Department of Homeland Security tool mistakenly flagged eligible voters as noncitizens during a voter roll purge. This purge was conducted following a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to enforce maintenance standards.
