Story perspectives

El Paso Clears 12,000 Voter Registration Backlog Before Deadline

By Drooid · Sep 24, 2026, 11:17 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Texas Department of Public Safety's technology error delayed processing of voter registration applications in September 2026.
The error created a backlog of about 12,000 registration records in El Paso County.
El Paso election officials are clearing the backlog before the October 5 registration deadline.
County registrars statewide received a surge of registrations and updates dating back to October 2025.
The El Paso Elections Department urges voters to verify status on its website or call 915-273-3597.

History

Historical Context

After the 2000 Florida recount, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act on Oct 29 2002, creating the Election Assistance Commission and requiring every state to build a computerized voter-registration list. Texas’s DPS-Voter system, launched in the 2000s, later suffered data-processing errors, a problem echoed by the 2026 software glitch that stalled 12,000 El Paso registrations. By 2024, 46 states had adopted at least one modern registration method.

1 of 2

Story summary

Texas Department of Public Safety's technology error delayed processing of voter registration applications in September 2026.
The error created a backlog of about 12,000 registration records in El Paso County.
El Paso election officials are clearing the backlog before the October 5 registration deadline.
County registrars statewide received a surge of registrations and updates dating back to October 2025.
The El Paso Elections Department urges voters to verify status on its website or call 915-273-3597.

1 / 2