HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A statewide voter registration backlog seems closer to a fix as early voting gets underway in all 254 counties across Texas. The backlog stemmed from an upgrade to the state’s registration software and how it communicated with county systems.
Annette Ramirez, Harris County’s Voter Registrar told ABC13 voters should be confident their ballots will count, even if their registration got delayed this summer. But she advises everyone to always check their registration status before they go vote.
“There was a time at the beginning of July when there was a pause on all the counties statewide being able to sync and upload the registration applications we received,” Ramirez said. In Harris County we did have, three weeks ago, a little under 30,000. You’re correct. Last week we were down to 14,000, and as of 10 a.m. (Monday, Oct. 20) we’re down to 43.”
Chris McGinn is the Executive Director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials. He said voters should not worry about their votes counting regardless of any remaining backlogs.
“As you can imagine, such a large database conversation has all kinds of issues,” McGinn said. “The primary issue that they had was getting the conversion right between the new statewide system and their existing system and making sure that data kinda jibed and got uploaded.”
Late last week, the Texas Association of County Election Officials sent a letter to the Secretary of State, asking for additional help during election season and for the state to pause additional updates for the time being.
The Secretary of State’s office confirmed to ABC13 they’ve received the letter and they are reviewing it. They continue to work with counties to get through any remaining backlog.
When we first reported the issue late last month, the Secretary of State’s office issued a statement which read in part, “We have been preparing for this for over a year. Technical issues are to be expected with a rollout of this size.”
Annette Ramirez is confident that every eligible voter in Harris County will be able to cast their ballot.
“It has been a very busy time,” Ramirez said. “Our team has been working overtime with the Secretary of State just to dig in to make sure that we’re getting all voters who have registered to vote up and active.”
The bottom line, according to Ramirez is that eligible voters should have confidence in the system.
“Before they show up at the polls, as always, they should have a vote plan,” Ramirez said. “And the first step in having a vote plan is checking your voter registration.”
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