Nearly 2 million Texas voters flagged on suspense list before election

Who's involved

• Alicia Pierce · Spokesperson for the office of the Texas Secretary of State^[1]

The facts

1. Approximately 1.8 million Texans had their voter status flagged on the suspense list ahead of the midterm elections in 2026.^[1]
2. The suspense list is a response to the National Voter Registration Act, which requires states to have a registration maintenance program that is uniform and nondiscriminatory.^[1]
3. Voters land on the suspense list when a registrar has reason to believe their address has changed, most often when a jury summons or voter registration certificate is marked undeliverable and returned to their office.^[1]
4. Voters on the suspense list can sign a Statement of Residence at their polling place to vote if they have not moved.^[1]
5. Voters can request a provisional ballot if there is an issue with their registration; provisional ballots are kept separate and election judges later determine whether they are eligible to be tallied.^[1]
6. Texas voter registrars received information that had initially been delayed from the Department of Public Safety due to a software issue creating a backlog of 500,000 registration records dating back to October of the prior year.^[1]

Who said what

• Alicia Pierce, Texas Secretary of State spokesperson There are still options for voters on the suspense list to cast a ballot in the election, and their registration still counts.^[1]
• Alicia Pierce, Texas Secretary of State spokesperson If voters have moved within the county or to a new one, they may need to take a couple of steps to make sure they are able to cast a ballot.^[1]
• Alicia Pierce, Texas Secretary of State spokesperson Texas voter registrars did a great job of addressing voter registrations that had been delayed and were able to take care of them ahead of early voting in this election cycle.^[1]