In late August, Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas election officials had removed more than 1.1 million names from the voter rolls. Many of these removals were consistent with routine election maintenance; more than 457,000 of the removed names belonged to deceased Texans, and another 134,000 belonged to Texans who had confirmed to officials that they had moved. The governor’s press release claimed that officials had also found the names of more than 6,500 possible noncitizens on the voting rolls, as well as more than 6,000 Texans legally barred from exercising the franchise because of felony convictions.
Still, the single largest group among the removed names belonged to voters on the state’s “suspense list,” many of whom could remain eligible voters. Here, we’ll explain how to check if you’re among them and what to do if you are, and we’ll answer other questions you may have about the voter registration process.
How do I know if I’m registered to vote?
Thankfully, the Texas secretary of state’s office makes this one easy: It operates a voter portal where Texans can enter some identifying information and confirm their registrations. You can access that here. Once you do, you’ll need to provide one of the following combinations: your Texas driver’s license or state ID number and your date of birth; your full name, date of birth, zip code, and county of residence; or, less commonly, your state voter unique identifier number (VUID) and your date of birth. If searching by name and date of birth, be sure to enter your full legal name—“Richard,” not “Rich,” for example—to ensure accurate results. If your name comes back as registered, you can go about your day, as there’s nothing more to do.
What if I’m not registered?
If you’re reading this before October 7, which is the deadline to register in Texas, you can visit your local election office (a list of those by county can be found here) to fill out a brief, one-page voter-registration form. On that form, you’ll provide your name and address and affirm, under penalty of perjury, that you meet the voter-eligibility guidelines, which are also clearly laid out on the form.
Alternatively, you can print out a copy of the form and mail it to the local election office, provided the envelope is postmarked by October 7. You can find the form in English here and in Spanish here.
Can I register to vote after the deadline?
No. Twenty-three states, plus the District of Columbia, allow same-day voter registration, but Texas is not one of them.
Can I register to vote online?
No. Texas is one of eight states that does not allow voters to register online. (The others are Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.)
What is a “potential noncitizen”?
Officials identified more than 6,500 registered voters as “potential noncitizens” and purged them from the voter rolls. For roughly 90 percent of those voters, it’s unclear whether they are actually noncitizens; each suspected noncitizen was mailed a form instructing them to submit documentation proving their status, and the names that were removed belonged to individuals who did not do so. That doesn’t necessarily mean those were all noncitizens; it just means they did not return the forms.
Since September 2021, 657 voters have been identified as noncitizens, mainly through officials comparing voter rolls to jury records and flagging Texans who were determined ineligible to serve on a jury because they were not citizens of the United States.
How do you end up on the “suspense list”?
Voters on the suspense list—which contains more than 463,000 names—were placed there because they were mailed cards by local election officials to confirm their residences. Voters who were mailed a card did not have to do anything to remain on the rolls; rather, the names that were removed belonged to Texans whose cards were returned to election officials. This group includes voters who moved since they registered and likely did not reregister at their new addresses. However, it can also include Texans whose mail was returned for other reasons, such as having temporary mail forwarding set up at one’s home address while on vacation, as the cards are not forwarded to other addresses. Additionally, a voter can be placed on the suspense list if any piece of mail sent to their home is returned as undeliverable, at which point their county registrar should mail a notice asking the voter to confirm their address; such individuals will remain suspended until their address is confirmed.
Can I still vote if I’m on the suspense list?
Yes, under most circumstances. A voter who is on the list but hasn’t moved can fill out the notice of address confirmation at their polling location, at which point they will be unsuspended and eligible to cast their ballot at that time. If they have moved, the process can be more complicated, and it depends on whether they’ve moved within the same county or not. If they’re in the same county, they can go to their original precinct and vote there. If they’ve moved to a different county and didn’t update their voter registration before October 7, then they can likely cast a limited ballot if they show up for early voting. Even voters who haven’t moved, however, will be unable to vote if they haven’t filled out that form within the first two general elections after being suspended—after two election cycles, their name will be removed from the voter rolls and they will need to reregister.
Okay, I’m registered. When does early voting start in Texas?
Early voting runs from Monday, October 21 through Friday, November 1. If you don’t vote within the early voting window, you’ll need to go to the polls on Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 5.
