Texas has removed over 1.1 million people from its voter rolls since 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office announced on Monday, emphasizing efforts to ensure accurate election data and legally registered voters.
The total removed includes 6,500 potential noncitizens and 457,000 deceased individuals, according to data provided by the governor’s office.
Texas Republicans have focused on voter fraud prevention. This recent voter roll review follows the passage of Senate Bill 1 in 2021, which increased penalties for false voter registration and mandated biannual audits of county election offices.
“Election integrity is essential to our democracy,” Abbott stated, highlighting that the Secretary of State and county voter registrars have a legal obligation to review voter rolls, eliminate ineligible voters, and report any possible illegal voting to the Attorney General’s Office for investigation.
On Monday, the Texas House Elections Committee reviewed the findings of a recent audit, with particular focus on Harris County, the state's largest county. The audit revealed Harris County faced significant election administration issues in 2022, including failures to estimate ballot paper needs at 19 polling locations, inadequate training for election workers, and improper maintenance of voter rolls.
As a result of these issues, Harris County’s Elections Administrator has since been dissolved. However, state officials have called for continued oversight, with plans to send inspectors to observe ballot counting and election processes in the upcoming November election.
Despite these challenges, lawmakers from both parties expressed confidence in the integrity of Texas elections, encouraging voters to trust the system. “What we want is our voters to say, ‘these are fair, these are transparent, my vote counts,’” said State Rep. Mano DeAyala, R-Houston. “As a state, we need to be the gold standard for the country.”
The deadline to register to vote in the November election is October 7.
