As Texas refuses online voter registration, paper applications get lost

The same thing happens to people all over Texas, a Votebeat investigation found: Eligible voters who believe they have done everything necessary to cast a ballot don’t get the chance because their registrations didn’t make it into the system.

There is no simple way to know how many people are disenfranchised because of this, but more than a dozen local election officials and volunteer deputy registrars shared examples, and multiple people told similar stories: They filled out the paper application form, mailed it, gave it to a volunteer deputy registrar, or even went to their county office to drop it off — and still weren’t successfully registered.

Votebeat’s investigation found the problems apparently share a root cause: a registration system that relies on paper forms. Texas is one of only eight states without universally available online voter registration. Most people in the state have to fill out a paper form, whether they are registering through an election office or while getting a new driver’s license or state ID at the Texas Department of Public Safety. Only people who already have a Texas driver’s license and are engaging in an online transaction with DPS, such as renewing their license or updating their address, can use a DPS online portal to register.

The Texas Secretary of State’s office told Votebeat that offering online registration to all voters would require legislative action. State lawmakers have for years resisted efforts to do so.



https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/28/texas-voter-registration-issues/