{"id":422201,"date":"2026-08-31T21:54:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T21:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/422201\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T21:54:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T21:54:21","slug":"what-the-texas-voter-suspense-list-is-and-how-to-know-if-youre-on-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/422201\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Texas voter suspense list is and how to know if you\u2019re on it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Texas\u2019 free newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Multiple headlines recently have fueled confusion among Texas voters who have been placed on the state\u2019s suspense list.<\/p>\n

Voters on the suspense list can still vote. Despite its name, being placed on the suspense list does not mean a voter\u2019s registration was suspended, canceled, or that the voter was removed from the voter roll. <\/p>\n

The list is made up of registered voters whose local election officials have reason to believe they may no longer live at the address they used to register to vote. Texas voters move every day, and they often don\u2019t update their address on their voter registration record. <\/p>\n

Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson with the Texas Secretary of State\u2019s Office, said the number of voters on the suspense list now \u2014 1.2 million out of more than 18 million registered voters \u2014 is consistent with what the state has seen in previous election cycles. <\/p>\n

Voters on the suspense list can confirm their address by contacting their local voter registrar ahead of the Oct. 5 voter registration deadline and filling out a new voter registration form with their updated address. Voters can also update their address at the polls. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know about Texas\u2019 suspense list and what to do if you\u2019re on it: <\/p>\n

What is the suspense list?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an address verification list. By law, if a county voter registrar \u201chas reason to believe that a voter\u2019s current residence is different from that indicated on the registration records,\u201d the voter registrar \u201cshall deliver to the voter a written confirmation notice requesting confirmation of the voter\u2019s current residence,\u201d according to the secretary of state\u2019s office guidance.<\/a> <\/p>\n

How are voters placed on it?<\/p>\n

Every two years, each county voter registrar mails a new voter registration certificate to all active voters, a move required by law to keep the voter roll up to date. <\/p>\n

If the U.S. Postal Service returns the certificate as nondeliverable, the voter registrar must then confirm that the voter still lives at that address. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s when a voter is added to the suspense list. <\/p>\n

A voter registrar mails a notice of address confirmation to voters when:<\/p>\n

The voter\u2019s registration certificate has been returned as nondeliverable.A jury summons or any mailing sent to the voter was returned as nondeliverable.The voter registrar has received information indicating the voter no longer resides at the address on file. For example, parents can notify their voter registrar if their children have moved, or a voter themselves can call the voter registrar to say they no longer live at that address. <\/p>\n

Although some county election officials had trouble mailing voter registration certificates<\/a> in December due to issues with the state\u2019s voter registration and management system, the certificates were mailed out ahead of the primary election earlier this year. <\/p>\n

How can I check my voter registration status?<\/p>\n

You can check your voter registration status at VoteTexas.gov<\/a>. But county voter registration lists are managed by county election officials, who have the most up-to-date information about your voter registration record. When in doubt, contact your county voter registrar directly. You can find a list and contact information by county here.<\/a><\/p>\n

By Texans, for Texans.<\/p>\n

Stay in the know on elections across the state with on-the-ground reporting by Natalia Contreras. Get her newsletter, delivered twice a month.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m on the suspense list; can I still vote?<\/p>\n

Yes, you can still vote. Just make sure you update your address before the Oct. 5 voter registration deadline. <\/p>\n

How do I update my address on my voter registration record?<\/p>\n

Fill out a voter registration application before the Oct. 5 deadline. You can find a form here<\/a>. Print it, sign it, and mail it to your local voter registrar or turn it in in person. <\/p>\n

If you have a state ID or a driver\u2019s license, you can also update your information online here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

If you have questions, contact your local voter registrar \u2014 the election official in charge of your county\u2019s voter registration list. You can find a list of voter registrars by county here.<\/a><\/p>\n

What if I didn\u2019t update my address before the Oct. 5 voter registration deadline?<\/p>\n

That depends on where you\u2019ve moved. <\/p>\n

If you moved to a different county, you may be able to vote using a limited ballot \u2014 which may include only state and federal races, but no local races \u2014 during early voting. A poll worker will instruct you on how to obtain one at the county\u2019s main early voting polling place. On Election Day, however, limited ballots are not available for voters who moved from a different county and did not update their registration on time.<\/p>\n

If you moved within the same county, you can vote during early voting and on Election Day by filling out a statement of residence form to update your address. If on Election Day, your county does not use the countywide polling place program<\/a>, which allows voters to cast their ballot at any polling location in the county, you may be asked to go to your assigned precinct to update your address and cast your ballot there. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re running into further voter registration issues, we want to hear from you. Please send us an email at community@votebeat.org. <\/p>\n

Natalia Contreras covers election administration and voting access for Votebeat in partnership with the Texas Tribune. Natalia is based in Corpus Christi. Contact her at ncontreras@votebeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[3803,155,157,156,409,19682,6825,7153,19681,8839,2279],"class_list":["post-422201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-3803","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news","tag-election","tag-hannah-murry","tag-pride","tag-registration","tag-votebeat","tag-voter","tag-voting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}