Texas election officials are working to process an unknown number of voter registration applications that the Department of Public Safety failed to transmit to county registrars, raising concerns about added backlogs just weeks before the state’s Oct. 5 registration deadline. The affected applications were submitted through DPS’s online driver’s license portal. State officials said some transactions created incomplete voter registration records, preventing the applications from being sent to county election offices. They have not disclosed how many voters were affected, what information was missing or when the problem began. DPS began sending the identified records to county officials overnight after the issue was discovered. The Texas Association of County Election Officials is gathering information from counties to assess the scope of the problem. The secretary of state’s office learned of the issue last week after county officials noticed an unusual increase in older voter registration applications appearing in TEAM, Texas’ statewide voter registration system. State Elections Director Christina Adkins told county officials that the state was investigating the source of the historical records and temporarily removed the files from county dashboards while the problem was addressed. Officials said DPS has identified the affected records and made changes to its system. The state is also reviewing whether those changes could affect the regular delivery of new registration files. Counties now must process older applications while ensuring they do not replace more recent registration updates from the same voters. The state said it can identify and withhold outdated records for counties that work directly in TEAM. Counties using separate voter-registration software will receive all of the affected records and must determine whether voters later submitted updated information. Those records will be delivered in batches, with the state coordinating with county vendors. The DPS portal is one of Texas’ largest voter-registration channels. About 6 million Texans used it to register between 2020 and 2024, according to testimony DPS officials gave lawmakers in 2025. Texas has more than 18 million registered voters. Texas does not offer unrestricted online voter registration. Since September 2020, however, eligible Texans renewing a driver’s license or state identification card, or updating an address online, have been allowed to register through the DPS portal. That system was expanded after voting-rights groups sued the state and DPS. Voters who submitted a registration through DPS before the Oct. 5 deadline can still have their ballots counted even if their names do not immediately appear on the voter rolls, said Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office. “ A voter who registered through DPS online services but does not appear on the rolls can cast a provisional ballot,” Pierce said in an email. “Election officials have an established method with DPS to check the transaction. If that voter did register, the provisional vote will be counted.” The state’s handling of the records will be closely watched as counties manage one of the busiest periods in the election calendar. The number of affected voters and the full cause of the breakdown remain unresolved.