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Voting rights groups sue Texas over 600,000 voter backlog

By Drooid · Oct 15, 2026, 2:58 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Texas Voter Backlog Lawsuit

Voting rights groups sued Texas officials to force correction of an online voter-registration backlog.
The suit alleges the Texas Department of Public Safety failed to forward 600,000 registrations to county registrars.
The League of Women Voters of Texas and MOVE Texas Civic Fund seek an injunction rather than monetary damages.
The backlog began in October 2025 after a DPS glitch that the agency claimed to fix on September 13.

Summary

Texas DPS Enables Online

The settlement in 2021 made Texas’s online voter registration permanent and required state agencies to maintain it.
A federal court ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to enable online registration with driver-license updates in 2020.
The Secretary of State’s Office announced grants for overtime and temporary workers to help counties clear the registration backlog.
Dallas, Harris and Collin counties used outside vendors to clear the backlog within a week.

History

Historical Context

The 1993 National Voter Registration Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, mandated motor-vehicle agencies to offer voter registration, spurring nationwide enrollment. By 2000, the Texas Department of Public Safety processed over 2.5 million registrations through its motor-vehicle offices, exceeding the national average by 15 %. Today's lawsuit by the League of Women Voters of Texas and MOVE Texas Civic Fund mirrors the 1993 act’s enforcement battles, demanding agencies correct a 600,000-record backlog. If courts enforce the original mandate, Texas counties like Dallas, Harris and Collin must allocate additional funds and staff, echoing the act’s long-term push for universal voter access.

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Texas Voter Backlog Lawsuit

Voting rights groups sued Texas officials to force correction of an online voter-registration backlog.
The suit alleges the Texas Department of Public Safety failed to forward 600,000 registrations to county registrars.
The League of Women Voters of Texas and MOVE Texas Civic Fund seek an injunction rather than monetary damages.
The backlog began in October 2025 after a DPS glitch that the agency claimed to fix on September 13.

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