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Kharyshi Wiginton (KPRC 2)<\/p>\nHARRIS COUNTY, Texas \u2013 Kharyshi Wiginton had voted before without a problem. So when she went to vote in May and election workers couldn\u2019t find her registration, she was confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I do know is I\u2019ve been voting consistently and at no point had my registration been a problem,\u201d the Pearland resident said.<\/p>\n
Kharyshi Wiginton (KPRC 2)<\/p>\n
Wiginton says officials later found her record and confirmed her provisional ballot counted. KPRC 2 has not established a connection between her experience in Brazoria County and the recently disclosed Texas Department of Public Safety software error.<\/p>\n
Still, she wants registering and voting to be easier to navigate when something goes wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I think that that\u2019s why it\u2019s critical, like this process needs to be as seamless as possible because most people are not going to do the legwork to figure it out,\u201d Wiginton said.<\/p>\n
That concern comes as Harris County works through more than 75,000 delayed voter registration records submitted through DPS. State officials say the software problem has been fixed. Now, counties are reviewing the records and updating voters\u2019 information ahead of the Nov. 3 election.<\/p>\n
For voters, the immediate advice is simple: Check your registration and address before the Oct. 5 registration deadline. If something is missing or wrong, contact your county\u2019s voter registrar.<\/p>\n
How the records got delayed<\/p>\n
DPS says the problem started with a third-party vendor\u2019s software update in October 2025. The update cut off parts of some voter registration records submitted through DPS\u2019s online driver\u2019s license services.<\/p>\n
That left the Secretary of State\u2019s office with incomplete information it couldn\u2019t process and send to county voter registrars.<\/p>\n
DPS says it discovered the problem in late August and worked with the Secretary of State\u2019s office and the vendor to fix it Sept. 13. DPS then resent the complete records. According to the agency, the state confirmed it received the corrected files Sept. 18.<\/p>\n
But fixing the software was only part of the work. Counties still needed to receive, review and process the delayed records.<\/p>\n
Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez said her office began receiving them Sept. 22, with more arriving through Sept. 23.<\/p>\n
Her office received about 108,000 records. Approximately 33,000 were duplicates, leaving more than 75,000 to process. Those numbers represent records, not a confirmed count of individual voters affected.<\/p>\n
What Harris County has finished \u2014 and what\u2019s left<\/p>\n
Some voters\u2019 information is already updated.<\/p>\n
In an updated statement, Ramirez\u2019s office said changes to existing registrations that could be processed immediately have been completed. Those records are active and up to date.<\/p>\n
New voter applications that were successfully processed are awaiting state verification. That includes checking identification information and assigning each new voter a voter identification number.<\/p>\n
About 11,000 records need a closer look. Those include records staff couldn\u2019t match to an existing voter or the voter\u2019s information.<\/p>\n
Ramirez said her team expects to review and process the affected records before early voting begins Oct. 19.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what I want the voters of Harris County to know is that we are staffed up and we were ready to handle this,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n
The unexpected backlog arrived while her office was already busy processing applications ahead of the registration deadline.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so this on on top of our already heavy workload, this issue that was caused by DPS in the state is putting additional strain on us,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n
The Secretary of State\u2019s office is offering grant funding to help counties cover that extra work, including additional personnel costs. It also has expedited security training and system access for additional staff and temporary workers.<\/p>\n
Ramirez said her employees understand why getting the work done matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey realize how important this function is to making sure that we\u2019re protecting our democracy, that we\u2019re allowing everyone\u2019s voices to be heard. And so they take it very seriously,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cAnd I know that our folks are dedicated. They\u2019re going to work around the clock to make sure that this is taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n
What advocates still want to know<\/p>\n
Karla Maradiaga, a voting rights attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said voters had been reporting delays long before counties received the backlog.<\/p>\n
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Karla Maradiaga (KPRC 2)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had been hearing reports for months from voters across the state who had gone online through the DPS website, updated their registration, and were seeing delays of weeks and sometimes months,\u201d Maradiaga said.<\/p>\n
DPS has now provided an explanation and a repair timeline. But Maradiaga wants more information about how the agencies will keep it from happening again.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s very little transparency about what they\u2019re doing to make sure this does not happen again, that they really understand the issue,\u201d Maradiaga said.<\/p>\n
Asked what she would ask DPS directly, she said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be, what are you doing to make sure this does not happen again? That would be my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Sept. 22 memo from the Secretary of State\u2019s office said officials were working with DPS to ensure the system changes did not disrupt future daily registration files.<\/p>\n
Other questions remain unanswered. The agencies\u2019 responses to KPRC 2 did not include a statewide count of unique voters affected or a county-by-county breakdown. DPS referred questions about affected files to the Secretary of State\u2019s office, which referred those follow-up questions back to DPS.<\/p>\n
Maradiaga said she trusts counties to work through the records.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want voters to know that counties are doing the best they can to process. And so trust your county. We at TCRP do trust our county elections offices. They know what they\u2019re doing,\u201d Maradiaga said.<\/p>\n
What you can do now<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to wait until you arrive at a polling place to find out whether your registration is correct.<\/p>\n
Go to VoteTexas.gov and check your registration and address. If something looks wrong, contact your county\u2019s voter registrar. The deadline to register for the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 5.<\/p>\n
In Harris County, you can also check at HCTAX.NET or call 713-274-VOTE (8683). Assistance is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese.<\/p>\n
Ramirez said her office can investigate if a registration request or update submitted through DPS isn\u2019t showing up correctly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be able to call DPS and contact them and have them check their records and then we\u2019ll be able to get back to that voter and make sure that they\u2019re good and ready to go,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n
For voters who still need to resolve a registration issue before the deadline, Maradiaga recommends visiting their county voter registrar\u2019s office and submitting a paper form.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat way you avoid these technological issues that could possibly arise,\u201d Maradiaga said.<\/p>\n
She also encouraged voters experiencing problems to contact the Texas Civil Rights Project.<\/p>\n
If you submitted your registration through DPS on time, the state says a processing delay will not erase that submission date. The Secretary of State\u2019s office told KPRC 2 that an eligible voter whose qualifying DPS transaction occurred on or before Oct. 5 will be timely registered for the Nov. 3 election, even if the record is processed later.<\/p>\n
The office said the delayed registrations have been sent to counties in time for the election.<\/p>\n
If your registration doesn\u2019t show up at the polls<\/p>\n
Ramirez said tell a poll worker. If you registered through DPS, let them know so officials can check that transaction.<\/p>\n
Ramirez said Harris County poll workers can contact her office\u2019s election call center. Staff can research the record with DPS and update the county system in real time when the information is verified.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we are on standby to receive calls from voters and also from the election workers, election judges, and we are checking that voter registration status,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n
The Secretary of State\u2019s office says voters who registered through DPS online services but do not appear on the rolls can cast a provisional ballot. Officials then check the transaction and review whether the voter is eligible for the ballot to count.<\/p>\n
Maradiaga said voters should ask about that option before leaving.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so we do recommend not leaving the polling place without a provisional ballot, at least, if you\u2019re not showing up on the rolls,\u201d Maradiaga said.<\/p>\n
A provisional ballot must be reviewed before it can count \u2014 the process Wiginton says ultimately allowed her vote to be counted this spring.<\/p>\n
Early voting begins Oct. 19. Election Day is Nov. 3.<\/p>\n
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