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Informative article about the Suspense List:
Last edited Thu Sep 5, 2024, 10:40 AM - Edit history (2)
Verify: Yes, Texas will purge 'suspense list' voters from roll after 2024 presidential election
Federal law requires states that abide by the 1993 National Voter Registration Act to maintain voter rolls in each state. However, states are allowed to establish their own systems of voter roll maintenance within the guidelines of federal law. In Texas, the state uses the term 'suspense list' to refer to voters who potentially have address discrepancies.
Voters on the suspense list are still allowed to vote in the 2024 Presidential election, so long as they can attest to their address on the date they are casting a ballot. Registered voters for the November election can also go online before the Oct. 7 voter registration deadline to update their address at votetexas.gov.
In an emailed response to questions from the KHOU 11 Verify Team about when notices are sent out to voters in Fort Bend County, Oldham says, "In December of odd-numbered years all registered voters are to be mailed a replacement voter certificate. That is a non-forwardable piece of mail. If it is returned to the voter registrar as undeliverable then the voter is placed on Suspense and is sent a forwardable Confirmation Notice. If the voter returns the Notice indicating that they still live at the same address, they are returned to Active status. If they return the Notice and update their address to a new one in the county, their record is updated and they are returned to Active status. If they return the Notice indicating that they have moved to an address outside of Fort Bend County, then their registration is canceled. If a family member returns the card indicating the voter is deceased, they will be canceled. If the voter does not receive the card or does not respond, then they remain in Suspense for two Federal Elections, after which their registration is canceled. Voters on Suspense may also complete a form called a Statement of Residence affirming their old address, or updating to a different address within the county."
https://www.khou.com/article/news/verify/verify-texas-purge-suspense-list-voters/285-cfc46283-b2ba-44d1-a1d3-bc1987a479a1
Federal law requires states that abide by the 1993 National Voter Registration Act to maintain voter rolls in each state. However, states are allowed to establish their own systems of voter roll maintenance within the guidelines of federal law. In Texas, the state uses the term 'suspense list' to refer to voters who potentially have address discrepancies.
Voters on the suspense list are still allowed to vote in the 2024 Presidential election, so long as they can attest to their address on the date they are casting a ballot. Registered voters for the November election can also go online before the Oct. 7 voter registration deadline to update their address at votetexas.gov.
In an emailed response to questions from the KHOU 11 Verify Team about when notices are sent out to voters in Fort Bend County, Oldham says, "In December of odd-numbered years all registered voters are to be mailed a replacement voter certificate. That is a non-forwardable piece of mail. If it is returned to the voter registrar as undeliverable then the voter is placed on Suspense and is sent a forwardable Confirmation Notice. If the voter returns the Notice indicating that they still live at the same address, they are returned to Active status. If they return the Notice and update their address to a new one in the county, their record is updated and they are returned to Active status. If they return the Notice indicating that they have moved to an address outside of Fort Bend County, then their registration is canceled. If a family member returns the card indicating the voter is deceased, they will be canceled. If the voter does not receive the card or does not respond, then they remain in Suspense for two Federal Elections, after which their registration is canceled. Voters on Suspense may also complete a form called a Statement of Residence affirming their old address, or updating to a different address within the county."
https://www.khou.com/article/news/verify/verify-texas-purge-suspense-list-voters/285-cfc46283-b2ba-44d1-a1d3-bc1987a479a1
There is alot of drama about the Suspense List and purged voters etc. Factual articles about the Suspense List are hard to come by. This is how it was explained to me by our elections administrator. It's just hard to find anything in writing about it.
Abbott likes to brag about purging voters, but there is a good chance that 463,000 of those on the Suspense List were purged in December 2022.
I notice that he adds, "Since 2021" to his purges and doesn't give the dates when they were purged.
Mass purging of voters 90 days before an election is a violation of federal law. (I think in certain cases a voter can be purged within the 90 days if there is a verified death or felony conviction) However, there is a good chance that Abbott is using scare tactics in his announcement.
There is probably no federal law which regulates when or if Abbott provides "press releases". For instance, I don't think he made a press release in early 2023 about the Suspense List purge. He just waited until August 2024.
In response to Abbott’s press release, a coalition of watchdog and voting rights groups in a letter Wednesday asked Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson whether Texas has been removing voters from its rolls within the 90-day period before an election, which would be a violation of federal law.
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/27/greg-abbott-voter-rolls-texas/
There is concern that 6,500 potential non-citizens have been removed. This issue is being pursued by the ACLU and the LWV.
This is important. The odds are the 463,000 Suspense List voters were purged in December 2022 or earlier. That's because the Suspense List is maintained by the counties.
It's good that ACLU and LWV are requesting records.
Notice of Violation of National Voter Registration Act and Demand for Documents
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25079983-texas-nvra-letter-final
Demand for Documents. The NVRA requires that Texas, upon request, produce “all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.” 52 U.S.C. § 20507(i)(1).
We therefore request that documents sufficient to show the following be produced promptly:
1. Individualized voter information8 for each of the following voters and voter registration applicants:
a) All registered voters your office identified as potential noncitizens from September 7, 2021 to the present;
b) All registered voters issued notice letters on the basis of alleged “non- U.S. citizenship”9 from September 7, 2021 to the present; c) All voters canceled, purged, or otherwise removed from the list of eligible voters for alleged “non-U.S. citizenship”10 from September 7, 2021 to the present;
d) All voters canceled, purged, or otherwise removed from the list of eligible voters for alleged “failure to respond to notice of examination based on non-U.S. citizenship”11 from September 7, 2021 to the present;
e) All voters canceled, purged, or otherwise removed from the list of eligible voters for any reason other than “non-U.S. citizenship” or “failure to7 respond to notice of examination based on non-U.S. citizenship”12 from September 7, 2021 to the present; and
f) All voter registration applicants denied registration due to potential or actual status as a noncitizen from September 7, 2021 to the present;
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25079983-texas-nvra-letter-final
Demand for Documents. The NVRA requires that Texas, upon request, produce “all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.” 52 U.S.C. § 20507(i)(1).
We therefore request that documents sufficient to show the following be produced promptly:
1. Individualized voter information8 for each of the following voters and voter registration applicants:
a) All registered voters your office identified as potential noncitizens from September 7, 2021 to the present;
b) All registered voters issued notice letters on the basis of alleged “non- U.S. citizenship”9 from September 7, 2021 to the present; c) All voters canceled, purged, or otherwise removed from the list of eligible voters for alleged “non-U.S. citizenship”10 from September 7, 2021 to the present;
d) All voters canceled, purged, or otherwise removed from the list of eligible voters for alleged “failure to respond to notice of examination based on non-U.S. citizenship”11 from September 7, 2021 to the present;
e) All voters canceled, purged, or otherwise removed from the list of eligible voters for any reason other than “non-U.S. citizenship” or “failure to7 respond to notice of examination based on non-U.S. citizenship”12 from September 7, 2021 to the present; and
f) All voter registration applicants denied registration due to potential or actual status as a noncitizen from September 7, 2021 to the present;
Federal laws pertaining to voter registration list maintenance:
https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/eac_assets/1/6/FACT_SHEET_-_Voter_Confidence_and_NVRA.pdf
The NVRA allows states to remove voters who have not voted in two consecutive federal general elections
and failed to respond to a confirmation notice from an elections office. Other reasons for removal include death, felony
conviction, having moved from one jurisdiction to another, mental incompetence, or at the voter’s request.
https://www.eac.gov/blogs/list-maintenance-national-voter-registration-act
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